TOLEDO - Judge Melody J. Stewart started reading the law books that a company executive/law student brought into the health-care management office where she worked. That led to law school, teaching law at schools like the Univ. of Toledo, and ultimately the bench of the 8th District Court of Appeals for 12 years. A Democrat and African American, she is running for what is now an all-Republican, all-white Ohio Supreme Court. “My opponent is certainly qualified and competent but does not improve the court in any respect... If anything, it may be more detrimental to the court because it maintains the grave possibility of group think... My election improves the court with diversity of background

TOLEDO - The four judges vying for two Ohio Supreme Court seats have signed the state bar association’s “clean campaign” pledge, vowing not to engage in campaign activity that goes against the court’s political impartiality. As part of the clean campaign agreement, the Ohio State Bar Association’s Judicial Election Campaign Advertising Monitoring Committee has asked each candidate to take personal responsibility for their advertisements and statements they and their authorized committees issues, and to publicly disavow ads from other sources that violate the pledge. “We believe the public and our judicial system at large are best served when judicial campaigns focus on candidates’ credential