50 percent sign clean campaign agreement

Submitted information

COLUMBUS — The Ohio State Bar Association’s Judicial Election Campaign Advertising Monitoring Committee has announced that three of the six candidates running for the Supreme Court of Ohio in November have signed its “clean campaign agreement.”

Canton attorney Paul Hervey, Chair of the Ohio Bar’s Judicial Election Campaign Advertising Monitoring Committee, commended Justice Jennifer Brunner, Judge Terri Jamison and Judge Marilyn Zayas for agreeing to conduct their campaigns in accordance with the pledge, and in line with the guidelines in Canon 4 of the Ohio Code of Judicial Conduct.

Justices Pat DeWine, Pat Fischer and Sharon Kennedy have declined to sign the pledge this year.

Since 2002, the bipartisan committee has monitored election advertising in Ohio Supreme Court elections, reviewing complaints and speaking out when it has encountered campaign communications that impugn the integrity of the court or attempt to lead people to think a candidate might decide a case in a predetermined manner. As part of the process, the committee asks each candidate to take personal responsibility for the content of advertisements or statements they or their authorized committees issue.

Over the years, the committee has condemned advertising from candidates on both sides of the aisle as well as from third-party organizations seeking to influence Supreme Court elections. It will continue to do so when warranted.

“The Ohio Bar values and defends the independence, integrity and impartiality of our judiciary, which are pillars of our democracy,” Hervey said. “The Clean Campaign Pledge is designed to discourage any claims in the course of a campaign that place a false light on these principles and fuel public mistrust in our courts.”

“While we do not have unanimous participation from the candidates running this year, we are hopeful that all will conduct their campaigns in a manner that promotes confidence in the judiciary and which is consistent with the judicial canons to which they are bound,” he added.

The committee consists of 11 persons, including eight Ohio Bar member attorneys and three non-lawyers. No more than five members of the committee can be from the same political party and none may be involved or have contributed to candidates running for the Supreme Court of Ohio during their terms.