Hamilton Co. GOP chairman and former judge Alex Triantafilou has applied for a vacant judgeship on the U.S. Court for the Southern District of Ohio.
He has applied for a seat held by Susan Dlott, who took senior status recently, which means she will be essentially working part-time.
The judgeship is a presidential nomination.
A bipartisan advisory commission headed by Ohio's U.S. Senators, Rob Portman and Sherrod Brown, will review applications for the job and make recommendations. Senators Brown and Portman will choose the names to send to the president. In the end, it will be President Donald Trump who nominates a replacement for Dlott. The nomination must be confirmed by the full Senate.
Friday is the deadline for applications, according to the senators' press offices.
Emily Benavides, spokeswoman for Portman, said the 18-member commission appointed by the senators won't be releasing the names of those who have applied.
"The application and review process is confidential,'' Benavides said.
Benavides said she can't say when the commission will complete its work and names will be sent to President Trump.
Triantafilou, a partner at the Dinsmore law firm, has been county party chairman for 10 years. In 2005 and 2006 he served as county municipal court judge and common pleas judge. Triantafilou would not comment on the situation.
There is already one former county GOP chairman on the Southern District of Ohio bench - Judge Michael Barrett, who headed the party from 2001 to 2005.
The Southern District of Ohio has court locations in Cincinnati, Columbus and Dayton. The federal court serves 48 counties in the state.
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