ASHLAND — Four decades from now, Ashland lawyers will be sitting at a bar talking about their career and all the great judges they’ve worked with.
“And they’re going to say that name ‘Stimpert’ — the way lawyers in my generation say (Robert) Henderson and (James) DeWeese and (Jacob) Fridline,” said Ashland Municipal Court Judge John Good.
David Stimpert, 41, took the oath of office Thursday as Ashland County Common Pleas Court Judge during a standing-room only ceremony at the courthouse.
Good got emotional during his speech welcoming Stimpert as the county’s newest judge. He described Stimpert as a humble and “tireless” practitioner of the law who cares for his clients.
“He’s the right person for this job,” he said. “He brings, obviously intelligence and talent, but more importantly, he brings a limitless supply of integrity,” he said. “He brings class. He brings good nature. He brings congeniality with his colleagues.”
The former Chief Assistant Law Director for the city of Ashland replaces Ron Forsthoefel, who held the position since 2011.
Forsthoefel announced he would not run for re-election in June 2021 because he was tired of the politics that come with the job. Soon after his announcement, Stimpert and former county assistant prosecutor Victor Perez — both registered Republicans — announced bids.
Stimpert earned 4,737 votes, or 65.16% of the votes against Perez’s 34.84% in the 2022 May primary, giving him a shoe-in during the general in November when no Independents or write-ins ran against him.
Retired Ashland Juvenile Court judge Damian Vercillo said he is confident Stimpert will fulfill the heavy expectations from constituents. He said Ashland Mayor Matt Miller’s vision for “Ashland on the Rise” is not possible without having a safe community.
“If people don’t feel safe, if people don’t feel that they have access to the courts, if people feel that can’t get justice from the courts in our county, they’re not gonna come,” Vercillo said. “It’s that important for our community that we have the right person for the job.”
Ashland Juvenile Court Judge Karen DeSanto-Kellogg said Stimpert will hear from many people during his tenure about their ideas of how the court should work. But she urged the incoming judge to remember the people elected him.
“They want you bringing your values, your initiatives, your goals to this bench that I’m standing on right now,” she said.
Stimpert took the oath of office as one of his daughters held the Bible and the rest of his children and wife joined him on the bench. With a shaky voice, he shared a story about finding a docket leaflet from 1906 in his practice’s law library.
The docket had the name “Philip Stimpert” in it: His great-great grandfather, who served as a civil litigant at the Ashland County Court of Common Pleas, Stimpert said.
“To stand here today, 117 years later, in this capacity is surreal,” he said.
As his son, his youngest of four, called for “mommy” — a welcomed moment of levity — Stimpert thanked his family, friends and community for their unwavering support.
He then again vowed to “put aside my personal views and beliefs and to have the courage to maintain the rule of law.”
