Candidate for
Judge; Court of Common Pleas; 6 Year Term Starting 4/01/13

I bring 35 years of experience as a practicing lawyer to this judicial race. A graduate of Harvard Law School, I clerked for a year in the federal court system before joining the firm of Graydon Head & Ritchey where I have worked since 1975. My law practice has encompassed many areas of the law, including commercial trial practice, real estate, probate and environmental cases. In recent years, I have assisted many people with their personal and estate planning issues, as well as with litigation.

My commitment to this community has lead to my volunteering for numerous local non-profits. I devote intense energy to the causes I believe in. As a result, I have served in many leadership positions and worked with numerous civic organizations in Cincinnati.

In the 1990's I was a member of the Indian Hill City Council, serving as Mayor of Indian Hill from 1995 to 1999. I also served on the board of the Seven Hills School, and was the board president from 1995 to 2000, a period during which the school rebuilt its high school buildings.

I strongly believe that our children are our future. At the Children's Home of Cincinnati, I served as a trustee for 23 years and board president for four years. I remain involved at the Children's Home because I believe that every child should be given every opportunity to succeed in life and that nothing is more important to a child than a loving home. I have joined the board of CET, our local public television station, because I feel strongly about the need to offer children programming like Sesame Street as an alternate to the programming on commercial stations. I also serve as a member of the boards of the Taft Museum of Art and the Twin Towers/Twin Lakes retirement communities.

As a lawyer, I understand the need for competent, experienced trial lawyers. I have served for over twenty years as a trustee of the Cincinnati Law Library Association, which was founded in 1847 to provide legal research resources and services to the judges and lawyers of Hamilton County, Ohio. I have helped the Law Library evolve as the legal system has become increasingly dependent on electronic information systems.

I have been married for 33 years to Susan Black, a psychiatric social worker. We have three fully grown children (Heidi, Charlie and Chris) and live in Indian Hill on a small farm established by my grandparents 85 years ago.