ASHLAND — Ashland County Common Pleas Court Judge Ron Forsthoefel likes ties.
One of his favorites depicts a boxing match between a donkey and an elephant. He said it’s the best description of American politics.
“They’re wearing boxing gloves going at it,” he said recently of the cartoonized animals, his face in a wry smile. The judged reclined in his office chair, imitating boxers as he held up both hands, clenched into fists.
The self-described “conservative pragmatist” judge announced June 25 he would not seek a third term on the bench, saying he does “not have the energy, nor the desire” to run a contested campaign.
For the first time since his announcement, Forsthoefel sat with reporters to speak candidly about his decision and his career in law — both as an attorney and a judge.
The 63 year-old is a registered Republican and said he’s done sparring in the political ring. Come February 2023, he’s hanging up the boxing gloves.
Why announce now?
Forsthoefel will serve the remainder of his term, which ends February 2023. By the time that happens, he’ll have reached age 65. Ohio law allows Forsthoefel to finish out one more term in office, since he would have turned 70 before being sworn in.
“I’m not afraid of losing an election. I just don’t want to run an election,” he said. “And I’m done with politics. I can sit back and I don’t have to go to political functions — I don’t have to worry about all the hullaballoo that goes on with the political party and those things that they argue about.”
In his June 25 statement, Forsthoefel alluded to the County Republican Executive Committee’s desire for “someone else” to be in his position.
The head of the committee, Ashland County Prosecutor Chris Tunnell, said he doesn’t know what Forsthoefel meant by his statement.
“I’ve never had a conversation with him about his running again or anyone running against him,” Tunnell said.
Forsthoefel did not mention names, but since his announcement, Victor Perez, a Republican, announced his bid to take over. Perez has served as Ashland County’s assistant prosecutor since December 2016. His candidacy has been endorsed by Ashland County Commissioner Jim Justice and Loudonville’s interim Council President, Matt Young.
Tunnell said he supports Perez’s decision to run for judge, but that his support does not mean the Republican Committee has endorsed him.
“Our bylaws prohibit that in Ashland County,” he said.
Forsthoefel said Perez did reach out to him six weeks before his courthouse-steps announcement.
“I’m at a point in my life where I don’t need to worry about another term in office,” Forsthoefel said.
Dave Stimpert, also a Republican, has said he plans to run against Perez. The assistant law director for the city of Ashland and private attorney has not officially announced a bid.
Whoever’s elected, Forsthoefel said will begin a job with a six-day work schedule and around 2,000 cases a year — along with a nearly $153,000 in salary and health benefits and a government pension.
It also comes with its fair share of stress, Forsthoefel said. Over the years, the judge has developed high blood pressure — a condition he attributes to the job. It’s a job he said “basically requires me to put it before my family.”
Once retirement hits, he hopes to manage the high blood pressure by focusing on gardening at his Loudonville home, road cycling and ski trips to West Virginia with his wife. He’s also looking forward to spending time with his family and setting his own schedule as a visiting judge.
Visiting judges, or a retired judge, in Ohio are paid based on a sitting judge’s salary. They can also continue to collect pension and other retirement benefits.
“So I can make as much or more money as a visiting judge,” Forsthoefel said.
Forsthoefel’s career as judge
The former private practice attorney from Loudonville began his career with Ashland as a magistrate in 1999, when he was 41. He remained in that position until 2010.
He ran unopposed in 2010 to become Ashland County’s Court of Common Pleas judge, replacing Deborah Woodward. He was re-elected in 2016 after running unopposed.
He previously served as an assistant county prosecuting attorney in Dayton. All said, Forsthoefel will have worked in law for more than four decades.
Tunnell said judges are often caught in no-win situations.
“It’s a very difficult job,” he said. “By the nature of being the decider in these cases, criminal and civil, someone is going to be unhappy with you. That makes it different from other elected positions.”
Aside from navigating through the difficulties of the job, though, Forsthoefel will be remembered for his contribution in modernizing the courthouse.
“That’s his passion,” Tunnell said. The prosecutor has worked in Ashland since 2001, when Forsthoefel worked as a magistrate. Even then, Tunnell said he’s noticed the courthouse’s transformation, largely led by Forsthoefel.
The judge computerized the Ashland County law library and made LexisNexis, a digital legal research database, available for attorneys at the Ashland County Bar Association.
He also created the court’s first website and introduced the public to new technology and paperless processes.
“Now, we’re a leader in Ohio in continuity of operations,” he said.
Tunnell said he owes Forsthoefel “kudos” for his leadership there. Those years of guiding the courthouse into the 21st century helped the county stay operational during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Other counties and courts around the state had to shutdown because of the pandemic. And now, they have backlogs because they were down for such a long time. But we kept going. We have no backlog of cases, no one’s languishing in the jail on some technicality that obliterated their speedy trial rights,” Tunnell said.
Franklin County courts, for example, were still trying to catch up in March on murder cases after a year of being shutdown, according to reports.
Most cases in Ashland can be held over video conferencing, with the exception of jury trials, Forsthoefel said. The court’s case management system has been moved to a server farm that also hosts encrypted data for the National Security Agency.
The court’s computer software was also upgraded to Office 365 and staff and attorneys use Zoom for video conferencing.
Forsthoefel said he doesn’t regret becoming a judge, but said he won’t miss its stresses. He will, however, miss his staff — which he called the best in Ohio.
“They are a great source of knowledge and they are great problem solvers,” he said. “They’ve had a lot to learn over the years … they’re doing a good job of carrying that forward in practice.”
