I'd like to draw your attention this week to a couple of very important races that often get overlooked in a statewide election year.  Two of our outstanding members of the Ohio Supreme Court officially filed petitions on Thursday to appear on the 2010 ballot. 

Justice Maureen O'Connor is running for chief justice, an open seat this year due to the retirement of Chief Justice Thomas Moyer.  Justice O'Connor has served on the state's highest court since 2003, and she brings more than 25 years of judicial and administrative experience to the bench.  She carried all 88 Ohio counties in her 2008 re-election campaign and received more votes statewide than Barack Obama.  That gives you an idea of just how formidable Maureen O'Connor will be in this race.  More importantly, she will become the first female chief justice in the court's history.

An equally-important race is the re-election of Justice Judith Ann Lanzinger, who is seeking her second term.  Justice Lanzinger, or "Judge Judy" as she likes to be called, has the honor of being the only jurist ever elected to all four levels of Ohio's judiciary, serving on the Toledo Municipal Court, the Lucas County Court of Common Pleas, the Sixth District Court of Appeals and now the Ohio Supreme Court.  She has written more than 200 opinions since joining the high court, and she is the only justice to hold an advanced judicial studies degree from the National Judicial College, where she has taught courses, both nationally and internationally, for 12 years.

These two outstanding jurists offer a combined 50 years of public service to our state, and they bring incomparable judicial experience and integrity to their respective races.  I'm asking you to give them your commitment to working as much for their campaigns as you will for the rest of our statewide ticket.

It's easy to lose sight of these contests with higher-profile races on the ballot this year, but they need our tireless support and relentless promotion of their campaigns.  These judicial candidates don't appear on the ballot with a party affiliation, so it's up to us to let our voters know who they need to support.  What can you do?