Battle of the judges: All five local Summit County judicial races contested this year

Two years ago, the local judge races in Summit County were distinguished by a lack of opposition.

This year, the opposite is true. All five judge races on the ballot in the county are contested.

In 2020, six sitting judges in Summit County Common Pleas Court – three Democrats and three Republicans – ran unopposed, with the local parties agreeing not to recruit opponents. The only contested races were for one seat each in Domestic Relations Court and the 9th District Court of Appeals.

More: Parties split seats in contested Summit judge races; prosecutor keeps her seat

That was out of the norm for judge matchups in Summit County, however, and things appear to have returned to the status quo in the recent candidate filings for the May 3 primary, with one candidate from each party submitting petitions. Those petitions must still be certified by the Summit County Board of Elections.

Judge races are partisan in the primary and technically nonpartisan in the general election, though the candidates generally get support from the local parties.

Here’s a look at who filed to run for judge:

Summit County Common Pleas Court: Judge Alison Breaux, a Democrat, is being challenged by Clarissa Allega, a Republican. Breaux won election to the bench in 2016, upsetting Judge Todd McKenney, who has since returned to Barberton Municipal Court. Allega is the Clinton mayor and a defense attorney.

Summit County Domestic Relations Court: Judge Susan Steinhauer, a Republican appointed by Gov. Mike DeWine in April, will face off against Kani Hightower, a Democrat. Hightower, an Akron Municipal Court magistrate and prominent defense attorney, lost to Katarina Cook in 2020. Cook, a sitting domestic judge, ran for the second domestic court seat in an unusual move that gave the GOP control of both seats in the court.

9th District Court of Appeals: Judge Tom Teodosio, a Democrat, is being challenged by Jill Flagg Lanzinger, a Republican. Teodosio, a former Summit County Common Pleas Court judge, was elected to the 9th District in 2016. Lanzinger is currently a judge in Barberton Municipal Court.

9th District Court of Appeals: Judge Donna Carr, a Republican, will face Erica Voorhees, a Democrat. Carr, who was first elected to the 9th District in 1998, is now the longest-serving judge in the five-member court. Vorhees is a magistrate in Summit County Common Pleas Court.

9th District Court of Appeals: Judge Lynne Callahan, a Republican, is opposed by Amber Crowe, a Democrat. Like Teodosio, Callahan was elected to the 9th District in 2016, moving up from the common pleas bench. Crowe is a magistrate in Summit County Juvenile Court.

The 9th district, based in Akron, covers Summit, Medina, Wayne and Lorain counties.

Stephanie Warsmith can be reached at swarsmith@thebeaconjournal.com, 330-996-3705 and on Twitter: @swarsmithabj.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: All five local Summit County judge races contested this year