GOVERNOR TO MAKE FINAL APPOINTMENT
TIFFIN, Ohio – September 8, 2022 – The Seneca County Republican Central Committee met Thursday evening to submit three candidates to Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine to fill the vacant seat for judge for the Tiffin-Fostoria Municipal Court.
During the meeting, the members voted to nominate:
- Rhonda Best, prosecutor for 16 years, mostly in Seneca County with some time spent in the municipal court in Crawford County.
- Ken Clason, magistrate for Seneca County Common Pleas Court for more than 10 years and former Acting Judge for Tiffin-Fostoria Municipal Court.
- Ken Egbert Jr., former Seneca County Prosecutor and has been an Assistant Ohio Attorney General for the past 13 years.
Barbara Dibble, assistant Prosecutor for the City of Fostoria for 26 years, and Victor Perez, member of the Tiffin City School Board and child protection attorney for the Seneca County Department of Job and Family Services, had also submitted self-nominations for the position. Perez was not present at Thursday’s meeting.
Because the position was previously held by a Republican, the nominations were to be made by the local Republican Central Committee.
In a letter from Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine’s office, the party was to send their recommendations, resumes and additional information to the Governor’s Office. The Governor’s Office reserves the right to seek candidates in addition to the names submitted by the local party.
According to the letter from the Governor’s Office, a panel will schedule interviews with the candidates as soon as possible after the receipt of the nominations. From those interviews, an interview panel is to forward its findings to DeWine, who will make the appointment and then coordinate with the local Republican party to announce the appointee.
On June 20, Tiffin City Council declared a vacancy in the office of judge for the Tiffin-Fostoria Municipal Court.
