Getting Elected

            After my appointment to the Domestic Relations bench in May of 1987, we had to get organized to run for a full six-year term in November, 1988. Although I had run for judge before (and been roundly trounced by incumbents), this campaign would be different. I would be fighting to keep a job that I was really beginning to enjoy.

            I did take one precaution against disaster. When I left the Capital University Law School faculty, I arranged with then Dean Josiah Blackmore to take a sabbatical, rather than resigning. My tenure position would be held for me until the results of the election decided my future.

            By far the most unpleasant part of running for any office is the need to raise money. This is further complicated by the rules that prohibit judges and candidates for judicial office from directly soliciting funds from anyone. This means that a "committee" has to be formed to run the fundraising part of the campaign. Fortunately, I had great people helping me and we raised about $75,000.00, which was a substantial sum for a judicial campaign at that time.

            We produced a TV commercial; but, given that 1988 was a Presidential election year and that a senatorial election was being hotly contested in Ohio, we had a hard time buying time to run the commercial. We made a radio commercial that ran a lot, and we used a lot of targeted direct mail.

            The best part of the campaign for me was the opportunity to meet people in a number of different settings and talk to them about the Court, its mission, and the job I was doing and hoped to continue to do. There were candidate nights sponsored by various civic and political groups to which all the candidates were invited. Most candidate nights put judicial candidates at the end of the evening. Often, the crowd had thinned considerably before we got the opportunity to talk.

            I enjoyed the house parties the most, with the small gatherings of neighbors and friends who were really interested in judicial candidates. I remember one meeting of about 15 or 20 folks, held in a neighborhood leader's living room. We sat in a circle and the people were encouraged to ask questions of the candidates, who had been scheduled to appear individually at 20 minute intervals. When it was my turn, I was asked several salient questions. Then, one person asked, "Are you a Christian?" "No," I replied, "I am Jewish." She responded: "Well, I guess that's OK!"

            Election Day was November 8, 1988. We had a campaign volunteer stationed at the Board of Elections to call us at our Downtown hotel room and let us know how the count was progressing. My opponent was an experienced lawyer whose father had been a long-time judge and who had considerable resultant name recognition. The race was very tight, but we maintained a small lead throughout the evening.

            1988 was a presidential election year, pitting George H. W. Bush against Michael Dukakis. Bush won in a walk and we Democrats were, to put it bluntly, getting our butts handed to us. I was a nervous wreck.

            Finally, about 11 PM, we got the call: All the precincts had been counted and we had 50.75% of the votes. Hardly a landslide, but we won. Felt pretty damn good!!