Guess who's back on the ballot? Former judge now seeking to be Stark County prosecutor
CANTON ‒ Fifteen years after he left the bench, former Stark County Common Pleas Judge Richard J. "Dick" Reinbold has set his sights on a different job.
Reinbold will challenge incumbent Kyle Stone next year to be Stark County's top prosecutor.
The former judge's attempt to return to the prosecutor's office where he was the chief criminal prosecutor more than three decades ago was one of the 2024 election storylines revealed with the 4 p.m. Wednesday candidate filing deadline.
All candidates aren't officially on the ballot until they are formally certified by the Stark County Board of Elections in January.
Among the other intriguing races on tap:
A retired sheriff's lieutenant is challenging his former boss, Sheriff George Maier.
County Engineer Keith Bennett has switched from the Democratic Party and will seek re-election as a Republican. He is running unopposed so far.
A former Democratic Canton councilman, Joe Cole, will run against Republican incumbent Bill Smith for a county commissioner seat.
And current Democratic Canton Councilman Kevin D. Hall, D-6, is challenging another incumbent Republican county Commissioner Richard Regula.
Stark candidates who filed for the 2024 election primary
Stark County Probate Court Judge Dixie Park, a Republican who lives in Jackson Township, is seeking one of three seats on the 5th District Court of Appeals. No Democrats have filed to run. All three of those elections will have contested Republican primaries.
Related: Stark County's Reggie Stoltzfus runs as candidate of principle for Congress
Judges Scott Gwin and John Wise are not seeking reelection to the 5th District Court of Appeals, which covers Ashland, Coshocton, Delaware, Fairfield, Guernsey, Holmes, Knox, Licking, Morgan, Morrow, Muskingum, Perry, Richland, Stark and Tuscarawas counties.
Former Democratic Stark County Recorder Rick Campbell opted not to go for a rematch against Republican Stark County Recorder James "Jamie" Walters, who defeated Campbell in 2020. Campbell instead is running for Stark County clerk of courts, seeking to block Republican Lynn Miller Todaro from a second term.
Related: Election results 2020: Trump coattails carry Stark County Republican challengers
Campbell must square off against Kimberly D. Bell in the Democratic primary. She ran for mayor of Canton earlier this year.
Meanwhile, Walters will faces Democrat challenger Tara Dyer of Nimishillen Township for Stark County recorder. Dyer, a leader of Stark Indivisible and a local activist, organized protests last year against the U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade.
Democrat Joseph Liolios of Plain Township is challenging Republican incumbent Alex Zumbar for Stark County treasurer. Liolios, as of 2020 was the first vice president of the Hall of Fame Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO.
Who's running for Ohio's 6th Congressional District?
State Rep. Reggie Stoltzfus, R-Paris Township, finds himself in a three-candidate GOP primary for congressman to succeed Bill Johnson in representing the heavily Republican-leaning 6th Congressional District.
The other candidates are state Sen. Michael Rulli, R-Salem, and Rick Tsai, a chiropractor from East Palestine. Tsai, whose practice is just across the state line in Pennsylvania, has publicly criticized the federal government's cleanup efforts after the East Palestine derailment.
The two Democratic congressional candidates are Rylan Finzer of Bedford Heights, who said he owns a medical marijuana business and lived in Perry Township until about a year ago, and Michael Kripchak of Youngstown. Kripchak filed to run for Congress in the May 2022 primary. The Mahoning County Board of Elections declined to certify his candidacy because he collected signatures of voters in two counties on one candidate petition form, making the petition invalid.
Who's running in the 13th Congressional District?
In Stark County's other congressional district contest, three Summit County Republicans have filed to compete to challenge incumbent Congresswoman Emilia Sykes, D-Akron, in November.
The GOP candidates are Richard Morckel, a test technician in Akron who was a congressional candidate in 2016 and 2020; Hudson Councilman Christopher Banweg, who's a director of service operations and strategy for Mentor-based infection prevention products company Steris; and former state Sen. Kevin Coughlin of Akron.
Coughlin's campaign website says Stark County Republican Chair Janet Weir Creighton is a co-chair for his campaign.
In Stark County, Creighton said she and Stoltzfus recruited Minerva Councilman Matthew Kishman, a Republican, to run to succeed Stoltzfus as state representative for the 50th District. He would run in the November general election and face Democrat Vanessa Joy of Jackson Township, who may be the first openly transgender candidate from Stark County to run for a seat in the Ohio legislature.
Stark County Family Court Chief Magistrate Matthew Kreitzer, a Republican, and Canton City Prosecutor Katie Erchick Gilbert, a Democrat, will be competing against each other to succeed Stark County Family Court Judge Jim James who will retire at the end of next year.
Kreitzer lost his last bid for Family Court judge in 2022, with longtime juvenile prosecutor Michelle Cordova winning the contest.
The March 19 primary ballot also will include several tax issues: a North Canton income tax increase of 0.5% from 1.5% to 2% without a corresponding credit for city residents who work in other cities; levy increases by the Lake Local and Marlington Local school districts; a Jackson Township replacement police levy; and a Perry Township road levy tax request.
Intriguing Stark County races
Reinbold, 77, of Canton is a Democrat who ran unsuccessfully for the state Senate in 2010 against Republican Scott Oelslager. An Army veteran, Reinbold served as the county's chief criminal prosecutor before being appointed a Canton Municipal Court judge in 1991. In 1996, he was elected to his first of two six-year terms as common pleas judge. In 2008, he chose not to seek reelection.
After a couple years as a criminal defense attorney, Reinbold said, he was a visiting judge in northeastern and eastern Ohio from around 2012 to 2019. He became an attorney for Schulman, Roth and Associates in Canton. Reinbold said since June he's served as a mediator for the Summit County Common Pleas court.
“It’s not that (Stone's) incompetent. It’s just that the philosophy he brings and the attitude he generates is different than mine, and I think my philosophy is better," Reinbold said Thursday, declining for now to get into specifics. "(I would) probably (be) more aggressive in prosecution. I believe in having a good relationship with all law enforcement.“
Reinbold said a couple of people he would not name had encouraged him to run for prosecutor.
Stone in an email reply wrote, "Prosecutorial approaches (have) evolved in the last 30 years, and how things were done in the early '90’s are not the way we are able to do them now."
The prosecutor said he had built relationships with law enforcement, the agencies his office represents and the community.
He wrote that "my strict approach against gun violence has fostered more collaboration with law enforcement locally and federally" and his assistant prosecutors have been instructed to "prosecute gun violence to the fullest extent of the law," which has decreased gun violence in the county and led to "a consistent relationship with our law enforcement partners."
Stone, 40, of Plain Township and a Republican, is seeking a second term as prosecutor. In 2020, the ordained pastor and attorney with five years in private practice benefited from a wave of local support for then-President Donald Trump. Republican challengers shocked several Democratic incumbents for county offices.
Eric Weisburn, who retired as a county sheriff's lieutenant in 2022, filed as a Republican to challenge incumbent Maier, 64, a Democrat from Tuscarawas Township, for sheriff.
Weisburn, 60, of Plain Township, worked for the Sheriff's Office for 31 year overseeing the jail, working in the detective bureau, serving as a school resource officer for Plain Local Schools and working in the patrol division. Weisburn, now a home improvement contractor, was a volunteer fire chief for Waynesburg.
He said it was not awkward running against his former boss.
"I’m not trying to take something that’s his," said Weisburn. "I just want the voters to realize I can do a better job.”
Maier could not be reached Wednesday for comment.
Bennett issued a statement Wednesday about his decision to switch parties, saying the engineer's post relies on sound engineering knowledge, principles and judgment to enhance "the safety of the traveling public" rather than party affiliations and politics.
"After serious consideration, I no longer feel that many of the policies and actions of the current national Democratic Party align with my personal values and principles," he wrote.
Judicial battles brewing in 2024
Park has been Stark County's probate judge since 2004. She is nearly halfway through her current six-year term. Park is facing off in her bid to be appeals court judge against Kevin W. Popham of Powell in Delaware County. Popham's campaign site says he's a senior trial attorney for Nationwide Insurance.
In the second GOP primary for state appeals court judge, incumbent Patricia Delaney of Delaware is running against David Gormley, a Delaware County common pleas judge.
In the third GOP appeals court primary, Krugliak Wilkins attorney Aletha Carver of Hills and Dales is in a three-way race with Jeff Furr, an intellectual property attorney from Utica and Robert G. Montgomery of Muskingum County. Montgomery was the Franklin County probate judge from 2010 to 2021.
Republican attorneys Daniel Funk of Jackson Township and Alliance Law Director Caitlyn Weyer will face off for a Stark County common pleas judgeship, with the winner advancing to take on incumbent Judge Natalie Haupt, a Democrat. Funk is an attorney at Baker, Dublikar
Statehouse races
In the 48th Ohio House District, Democrat Lynn Gorman, a write-in candidate from Lake Township for state senator in 2022, is challenging Republican incumbent Scott Oelslager, R-North Canton.
In the 49th Ohio House District, Krista L. Allison is challenging Republican incumbent Jim Thomas of Jackson Township for state representative. Allison, of Jackson Township, is an educational consultant at Stark County Educational Service Center.
In the 51st Ohio House District, which includes Tuscarawas County and southwestern Stark County, all four candidates for state representative live in Tuscarawas County. State Rep. Brett Hillyer, a Republican incumbent who lives in Mill Township near Uhrichsville, faces a primary challenge from Jodi Salvo of Sandy Township near Bolivar. Salvo is the director of Substance Abuse Prevention Services at OhioGuidestone.
The Democratic primary for the 51st District will have two candidates: Joe Rinehart of Lawrence Township near Bolivar and John Bazaar in Fairfield Township near Dover. Rinehart is a communications professor at Mount Vernon Nazarene University. Bazaar is the president of Norse Tool and Workholding in Dover.
Reach Robert at robert.wang@cantonrep.com. X formerly known as Twitter: @rwangREP.
Correction: Canton Councilman Kevin D. Hall is a Democratic candidate running for Stark County commissioner next year against Republican incumbent Richard Regula. A prior version of this article gave an incorrect first name for Hall. Robert G. Montgomery is a Republican candidate for 5th District Court of Appeals judge. A prior version of this article gave the wrong first name. Democrat Tara Dyer is running for Stark County recorder. A prior version of this article provided the wrong office. If voters approve a proposed 5-year Perry Township road levy with a replacement of 1 mill and increase of 6.8 mills, collections would begin in 2025 based on property values in 2024. A prior version of this article gave the wrong years. Eric Weisburn, the Republican candidate for Stark County sheriff was a fire chief for Waynesburg. A prior version of this article gave the wrong community.
What's on the March 19 primary ballot in Stark County?
The following candidates filed to run for election by the filing deadline Wednesday. An asterisk denotes the incumbent.
Congress, 6th Congressional District
Democrat
Rylan Z. Finzer
Michael L. Kripchak
Republican
Michael A. Rulli
Reggie Stoltzfus
Rick Tsai
Congress, 13th Congressional District
Democrat
Emilia Sykes*
Republican
Richard Morckel
Christopher Banweg
Kevin Coughlin
Judge, 5th District Court of Appeals, term begins Feb. 10, 2025
Republican
Dixie Park
Kevin W. Popham
Judge, 5th District Court of Appeals, term begins Feb. 11, 2025
Republican
Patricia A. Delaney*
David Gormley
Judge, 5th District Court of Appeals, Term begins Feb. 9, 2025
Republican
Aletha M. Carver
Jeff Furr
Robert G. Montgomery
State Representative, 48th District
Democrat
Lynn C. Gorman
Republican
Scott Oelslager*
State Representative, 49th District
Democrat
Krista L. Allison
Republican
Jim Thomas*
State Representative, 50th District
Democrat
Vanessa Joy
Republican
Matthew Kishman
State Representative, 51st District
Democrat
John Bazaar
Joe Rinehart
Republican
Jodi Salvo
Brett Hillyer*
Judge, Stark County Common Pleas Court, General Division, term starting April 16, 2025
Democrat
Natalie R. Haupt*
Republican
Daniel Funk
Caitlyn Weyer
Judge, Stark County Common Pleas Court, Family Court Division, term starts Jan. 1, 2025
Democrat
Katie Erchick Gilbert
Republican
Matthew P. Kreitzer
Judge, Stark County Common Pleas Court, Family Court Division, term starts Jan. 2, 2025
Republican
Rosemarie Hall*
Stark County Clerk of Courts
Democrat
Kimberly D. Bell
Rick Campbell
Republican
Lynn Miller Todaro*
Stark County Coroner
Republican
Ronald R. Rusnak*
Stark County Commissioner, term begins Jan. 2, 2025
Democrat
Joe Cole
Republican
Bill Smith*
Stark County Commissioner, term begins Jan. 3, 2025
Democrat
Kevin D. Hall
Republican
Richard Regula*
Stark County Engineer
Republican
Keith A. Bennett*
Stark County Recorder
Democrat
Tara Dyer
Republican
James Walters*
Stark County Treasurer
Democrat
Joseph C. Liolios
Republican
Alexander A. Zumbar*
Stark County Prosecutor
Democrat
Richard D. Reinbold Jr.
Republican
Kyle L. Stone*
Stark County Sheriff
Democrat
George T. Maier*
Republican
Eric Weisburn
State Central Committee
Republican
Man - 29th District
Curt Braden
Larry Jay Carver
Woman - 29th District
Joanna M. Swallen
Jane Timken
Issues
Cities and villages
Beach City
Renewals, 3 mills, fire, five years, collections start in 2025 based on property values in 2024. Would continue to cost owner of $100,000 home $83.67 a year with no increase. Would continue to generate $33,000 a year.
Canton
Local Option, Canton 4-F, Sunday sales of wine and mixed beverages, spirituous liquor, G&C Capital Investment Inc. doing business as 19th Hole, 101 Central Plaza South, 1st Floor.
Local Option, Canton 7-A, Sunday sales of intoxicating liquor, of the same types as may be legally sold in this precinct on other days of the week, for consumption on the premises.
Local Option, Canton 7-A, Sunday sales of wine and mixed beverages, of the same types as may be legally sold in this precinct on other days of the week, for consumption off the premises.
Massillon
Local Option, Massillon 2-C, sale of beer, wine and mixed beverages, 6th Street Market LLC, 124 Sixth St. NE.
Local Option, Massillon 2-C, Sunday sales of wine, mixed beverages and spirituous liquor, Village Tavern LLC, 146 First St. NE.
Meyers Lake
Renewal and decrease, 1 mill, roads, five years, collections to start in 2025 based on property values in 2024. Would decrease cost to owner of $100,000 home by $97.31 a year to $24.33 a year. Would generate $90,000 a year less or $22,000.
Navarre
Local option, Sunday sales of wine, mixed beverages and spirituous liquor. Kirby Food and Beverage LLC doing business as Kraus' Pizza Navarre, 232 Center St. NW, Suite 2.
North Canton
Income tax increase of 0.5% from 1.5% to 2%. General municipal operations, maintenance, new equipment, extension and enlargement of municipal services and facilities and capital improvements, effective Jan. 1, 2025.
Local Option, North Canton 1-C, sale of beer, wine, mixed beverages and spirituous liquor, Loby's Knaus 1022, LLC doing business as Kraus Pizza at 1022 N. Main St.
Local Option, North Canton 1-C, Sunday sales of wine, mixed beverages and spirituous liquor, Loby's Knaus 1022, LLC doing business as Kraus Pizza at 1022 N. Main St.
Townships
Jackson Township
Replacement, 5.75 mills, police, five years, collections start in 2025 based on property values in 2024. Additional annual cost to owner of $100,000 home: $75.22; Would generate additional $3.3 million a year.
Local Option, Jackson Township 7, Sunday sale of wine, mixed beverages and spirituous liquor, Club Prive Management, 4715 Hills and Dales Rd. NW.
Lawrence Township
Additional, 1.65 mills, roads, five years, collections start in 2025 based on property values in 2024. Additional annual cost to owner of $100,000 home: $57.75. Would generate additional $421,000 a year.
Lexington Township
Additional, 1.5 mills, roads, five years, collections start in 2025 based on property values in 2024. Additional annual cost to owner of $100,000 home: $52.50. Would generate additional $183,000 a year.
Perry Township
Replacement of 1 mill and increase of 6.8 mills, roads, five years, collections start in 2025 based on property values in 2024. Additional annual cost to owner of $100,000 home: $249.21. Would generate additional $5.23 million a year.
Plain Township
Local Option, Plain Township 5, sale of beer, wine and mixed beverages, Market Quick Stop, 2904 Market Ave. N.
Local Option, Plain Township 5, Sunday sales of beer, wine and mixed beverages, Market Quick Stop, 2904 Market Ave. N.
Pike Township
Additional, 1 mill, roads, five years, collections start in 2025 based on property values in 2024. Additional annual cost to owner of $100,000 home: $35. Would generate additional $163,000 a year.
School Districts
Lake Local
Additional, 9.5 mills, current expenses, five years, collections start in 2025 based on property values in 2024. Additional annual cost to owner of $100,000 home: $332.50. Would generate additional $6.11 million a year.
Marlington Local
Additional, 2.9 mills, general permanent improvements, five years, collections start in 2025 based on property values in 2024. Additional annual cost to owner of $100,000 home: $101.50. Would generate additional $1.55 million a year.
Northwest Local
Income tax renewal, 1%, for seven years, current operating expenses, commencing Jan. 1, 2026.
Tuslaw Local
Renewal, 4.1 mills, emergency requirements, 10 years. Would continue to cost owner of $100,000 home $125.56 a year with no additional cost. Would continue to generate $1.2 million a year.
Sources: Stark County Board of Elections and Stark County Auditor's office.
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Who's on the 2024 election ballot in Stark County?
