Ohio’s leading business groups have endorsed the two Republican candidates for Ohio Supreme Court, to the surprise of almost no one. But leaders of the business organizations insist it’s not just a political decision.
The Ohio Chamber of Commerce’s political action committee is backing Republican incumbent Justice Dan Hawkins against Democratic First District Court of Appeals Judge Marilyn Zayas and former immigration and Franklin County Common Pleas judge Colleen O’Donnell over Justice Jennifer Brunner, the only Democrat in elected statewide office.
The chamber's PAC has never endorsed a Democrat for Ohio Supreme Court since it changed its rules to allow endorsements in 1998.
"The Supreme Court makes decisions that affects how Ohio's laws are interpreted and applied, and those decisions can have real impact on businesses that are trying to create jobs, make investments, and grow right here in Ohio. Businesses need certainty. They need to know that the rules, what the rules are and how the rules will be applied, and that they'll be applied fairly and consistently," said Ohio Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Steve Stivers in endorsing Hawkins and O'Donnell. "They both think the law should be applied fairly, and they are going to interpret the law and not write the law from the bench."
Candidates can’t talk about issues they might decide. Stivers said they weren’t interviewed, but their judicial opinions and decisions were reviewed.
"This is not about Republicans and Democrats as it often comes down to. And I know that sounds silly for me to say, but it is really the role of a judge and how they interpret that role," said former Republican lawmaker Pat Tiberi, president and CEO of the Ohio Business Roundtable, which represents Ohio’s biggest and most profitable companies. "And the business community and business owners who see this impact in real world life understand that better than most.”
Stivers said there were several liability decisions that played a role, and said the Democratic candidates would have expanded liability and "didn't interpret the law; they actually tried to make the law from the bench."
"Liability contracting and expanding is not a partisan issue," said Stivers. "The party labels really mean nothing compared to the records of the candidates."
Stivers said the business leaders also looked at the ruling in 2022 in DuBose v. McGuffey, which determined that judges could only consider a defendant's flight risk and not public safety when setting cash bail. That same year lawmakers put forward a constitutional amendment to change that, requiring judges to consider public safety, the accused's criminal background and the seriousness of the crime as factors in setting bail. Voters approved it overwhelmingly.
The Chamber of Commerce and the Business Roundtable were joined in the endorsement by the National Federation of Independent Business-Ohio, the Ohio Manufacturers' Association and the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation.
A spokesman for Brunner said in a statement: "When people vote, they vote on the integrity and work of Justice Brunner. For instance Justice Brunner lives on a farm and interacts with farmers all the time. As Ohio’s first female Secretary of State Justice Brunner had a strong record of supporting business. That is why Ohioans have elected her and that is why her record and experience matter more to voters during Early Voting and on Election Day."
