Beacon Journal - Our Choice: Ben Espy in the Democratic Primary

(Akron Beacon Journal)For the Ohio Supreme Court
Our choice: Ben Espy in the Democratic primary

Justice Alice Robie Resnick will step down from the Ohio Supreme Court at
the end of the year. Two Democrats are vying in their party's primary to
replace the one Democrat on the high court. They are Ben Espy and Peter
Sikora. We recommend the election of Ben Espy on May 2.

Many Ohioans may recall Espy's tenure in the Statehouse, representing
Columbus in the Senate for a decade ending in 2002. He served as the
minority leader, his legal expertise on school funding elevating an often
rancorous debate. Espy also served for a decade on the Columbus City
Council. His political experience, combined with his high intelligence and
steady temperament, would benefit the high court.

That is hardly the sum of the Espy resume. His legal career began with
Allegheny Airlines as an assistant corporate counsel. He served as a judge
advocate in the U.S. Air Force. He worked in the state attorney general's
office, in the civil rights section and as head of the division of criminal
activities. His private practice has run essentially parallel to his
political career. Espy has represented public employee unions in many
instances. That may invite some to pigeonhole the candidate. Don't be too
quick to assess. Espy, 62, believes the courts should be accessible to all.
He also grasps the limits of the law.

Peter Sikora, 54, has been a Cuyahoga County juvenile court judge for the
past 17 years. He ran unsuccessfully for the Supreme Court in 1996. Sikora
served as a deputy counsel to Gov. Richard Celeste and eventually as the
general counsel for the state Department of Mental Retardation and
Developmental Disabilities. He understands the unusual leap he proposes,
from the rather narrow juvenile court to the Supreme Court. He cites the
breadth of issues before the juvenile bench, and his own record of
achievement. Sikora is smart and articulate. Ben Espy has the broader range
of knowledge and skills. That is the important difference in this race.

In November, the winner will face the Republican candidate, Robert Cupp, a
state appeals court judge and a former state senator.