Dear Editor: I am writing to endorse Judge Best for November 7. She is the BEST choice.

Dear Editor:

I am writing to endorse Judge Best for November 7. She is the BEST choice. She has held the job since last December and has done a fine job. Judge Best stepped up when there was a vacancy in the Court, leaving a long and successful career in prosecution to fill a need in the community for a fair, honest, and ethical Judge. In less than a year, she has addressed many of the issues in Municipal Court. She has restored Municipal Court’s involvement with the PIVOT Court. Along with Judge Alt and Judge Shuff, Judge Best helps offenders become productive citizens of Seneca County. Judge Best works hard for the community. Over 5000 cases have been through Municipal Court since the beginning of her tenure, including traffic tickets, criminal matters, and civil cases. The vast majority of these cases were handled by Judge Best. Municipal Court has an extremely busy docket. Ethically, she had to abstain from some cases because they were cases that she was actively prosecuting when appointed. The Code of Judicial Conduct requires such action to protect the rights of the involved parties and requires the assignment of visiting judges assigned by the Supreme Court in those cases. She attended two weeks of mandatory Ohio Supreme Court training sessions for new judges and kept the Court running during that time through the use of visiting judges. Without those judges, the Court could not process any cases during those required training days, as Judge Best was appointed to a Court without a magistrate, like our other Courts.

Looking at this further, you will see that this saved Seneca County funds. A full time magistrate requires full time pay and benefits. The use of visiting judges only cost the City of Tiffin (the budget for the Court is through Tiffin) and Seneca County less than $11,000. Some magistrate salaries exceed $100,000. In past years, Tiffin-Fostoria Municipal Court has paid more than that solely for Acting Judges. For conflict cases, which every Judge in a small community will have, all Judges are required to request Visiting Judges, even when they have acting judges or magistrates. Anyone stating otherwise could be either disingenuous or misinformed. It appears, based on statements that the democrat opponent of Judge Best has publicly made, that perhaps he simply wants to confuse the voters into thinking there is an issue where there is none. Judge Best has dedicated her career to public service. She often uses her life as an example to others for what hard work can achieve. She is truly an example of the American dream where everyone is allowed to aim high and achieve
 their goals.

I encourage you to vote for Judge Best on or before November 7 so that she can continue to make the important improvements to our Municipal Court.

Susan Platt
President of Seneca County Republican Women