Rucker better court choice

DEMOCRATS hope this year to break a string of 11 straight losses in Ohio Supreme Court elections. That process begins with the March 6 primary, when Hamilton County Municipal Court Judge Fanon Rucker and former 11th District Court of Appeals Judge William O'Neill face off in their party's primary to challenge incumbent Republican Justice Robert Cupp in November. FANON RUCKER is the better choice.

Mr. Rucker, 40, is a former prosecutor in Cincinnati. He also has been in private practice, specializing in civil-rights, labor, and municipal law. Appointed to the Hamilton County bench in 1997, Mr. Rucker won a new term in an uncontested election last November. A week after the vote, he announced his intention to run for the high court.

More Blade editorials

Mr. Rucker's experience includes civil and criminal law, as a prosecutor as well as a defense lawyer. He says he is concerned about the influence of money and the power of incumbency and name recognition in judicial elections, although he is actively raising campaign funds.

He says he would prefer that judges were chosen through a bipartisan merit system, perhaps with periodic retention elections. An African-American, Judge Rucker also would enhance the diversity of the Supreme Court.

Mr. O'Neill's biggest advantage is name recognition. He was elected to Ohio's 11th District Court of Appeals in 1996. He won re-election in 2002 but retired in 2007 to run for Congress. He was beaten by incumbent Republican Rep. Steven LaTourette in 2008 and again in 2010.

Mr. O'Neill, 64, ran for the Supreme Court in 2004 and 2006. Each time, he beat an endorsed Democrat in the primary before losing to Republican Terrence O'Donnell in the nonpartisan general election.

Now a pediatric emergency-room nurse in northeast Ohio. Mr. O'Neill calls the Supreme Court broken. He says the high court has ordered the General Assembly to fix public education funding but refused to enforce that mandate.

Like Mr. Rucker, Mr. O'Neill says he is running against the influence of money in judicial elections. Mr. O'Neill says he won't accept campaign donations but is connecting with voters through social media such as Facebook and Twitter. His position is admirable, but limits his ability to run a competitive campaign,

The supposedly nonpartisan state Supreme Court is tilted 6-1 in favor of Republicans. An imbalance of that magnitude in either direction is not healthy for the administration of justice in Ohio.

FANON RUCKER is the better choice in the Democratic primary to bring greater balance to the state Supreme Court.