Democrat Connie Pillich running for Hamilton County prosecutor

Former Ohio State Rep. and U.S. Air Force veteran Connie Pillich announced Wednesday she'll run for Hamilton County prosecutor, the first Democrat to enter the 2024 county prosecutor's race.

Pillich, 63, of Montgomery, will challenge Hamilton County Prosecutor Melissa Powers, a Republican. Powers was appointed to the seat in January to replace Joe Deters, who was appointed to the Ohio Supreme Court.

Pillich was set to officially announce her run at 10 a.m. Wednesday in Green Township's Veterans Park. She told The Enquirer she had not planned to run for office, but is doing so because she felt "called to serve."

"I feel like I am needed," Pillich said.

Republicans: Pillich will bring 'chaos'

She said she sees being a prosecutor as a balance: making sure justice is served when crimes are committed, but also that the system is fair. She criticized the prosecutor's office as being politically driven and mismanaged. She said she would "professionalize" the prosecutor's office by focusing on training for new attorneys and hiring based on talent, not party affiliation.

Powers told The Enquirer she's spent her career putting criminals behind bars.

"My opponent lacks the experience necessary to lead an office of this magnitude," she said. "She doesn't want this job; she just wants any job in government."

Hamilton County Republican chairman Russell Mock derided Pillich as the Democrats' "fourth (or fifth) choice."

Powers, he said, has kept dangerous criminals off the streets while Pillich is "the latest mouthpiece for in the liberal crusade to ruin great American cities through lawlessness and chaos."

A rising Democratic tide

Pillich has been calling on more women to run for office for years. Former Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley, an attorney, had mulled a prosecutor run, but ultimately decided against it.

It's been 91 years since Hamilton County has had a Democratic prosecutor, but the county is more blue every year.

Ohio Supreme Court Justice Robert Gorman, a Democrat, was prosecutor from 1930 to 1932. He ran as part of a group called the Citizens' Ticket. Each member of the Citizens' Ticket was endorsed by Democrats, according to Enquirer archives.

Earlier this month Democrat Samantha Silverstein defeated Republican Hamilton County Municipal Court Judge Curt Kissinger. And for the first time ever, voters elected an all-Democrat, nine-member Cincinnati City Council.

Currently eight of Hamilton County's 10 non-judicial elected officials − all but prosecutor and engineer − are Democrats.

About Connie Pillich

Age: 63

City: Montgomery

Education: University of Oklahoma, graduated in 1982 with a degree in business; earned an MBA from the University of North Dakota in 1985 while she was stationed there in the U.S. Air Force; earned a law degree from the University of Cincinnati in 1998.

Military: After graduating from college, where she had an ROTC scholarship, Pillich served eight years and four months in the U.S. Air Force where she was a captain. Her final assignment was in Cincinnati as a recruiter. Pillich served in support of Operations Desert Storm and Desert Shield.

Work experience: Six years as a Hamilton County Public Defender; Ohio State Representative from 2009 to 2014. She was co-chair of the Hamilton County Democratic Party for a short time in 2018. Most recently she worked for a trio of veterans groups. Pillich chairs the Democrats Club of Cincinnati, a social group; is the Ohio Democratic Party Chair of Veterans and Military Community Caucus and is on the executive board of the Democratic National Committee veterans and military counsel, although she's expected to leave that job as she enters the race.

Prior political runs: Pillich ran unsuccessfully for Ohio treasurer in 2014. She announced she would run for Ohio governor in 2018, but dropped out of the race. She ran in the 2020 Democratic primary for Hamilton County Commissioner but lost to Alicia Reece, who went on to win the seat.

Family: Married, two adult children

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Democrat Pillich running for Hamilton County prosecutor