Lima City Prosecutor Rick Eddy files his petitions to officially run for municipal court judge.
LIMA —Lima City Prosecutor Rick Eddy officially threw his hat into the ring to run for Lima Municipal Court Judge on Wednesday morning.
Eddy, who is now running against Lima Municipal Court Magistrate John Payne, filed his petitions to fill the seat being vacated by retiring Judge David Rodabaugh almost two weeks after Payne filed his on Jan. 19.
“I think this is the next logical step for my career,” said Eddy. “I’ve been a public servant my whole career as an attorney so it seemed like a good challenge. I feel strongly that a judge should follow the law and the Constitution and be fair and impartial. I also feel strongly that it’s their job to protect the community and base their decisions off of facts.”
Both Payne and Eddy announced their candidacy for the Republican nomination for the seat in August.
The lifelong Allen County resident said that his pitch to voters would focus on his experience and familiarity with the courtroom.
“I’ve been in the courtroom every day virtually for almost 23 years,” he said. “I’ve been a prosecutor for 19 and this fall will make it 20. I’ve prosecuted felonies and juvenile cases including violent offenses with Children’s Services. And I’ve been at Lima Municipal Court as a prosecutor since about 2008 doing misdemeanors, some violent including domestic violence and assault. I’ve been the chief prosecutor since 2016 so I’m used to supervising the staff. And I think that experience matters when you’re in a courtroom, conducting a hearing and those are the types of hearings I’ve done my whole career.”
Eddy said that he is interested in solving nonviolent drug issues by working with the probation department of the drug court and veterans court.
“I get to work with them on a daily basis and that would be an opportunity that I would really enjoy to help those people and hold people accountable.”
Payne, who presides over the Veteran’s Treatment Court, listed similar motivations when he turned in his petitions.
Eddy said that the race for the nomination will be gentlemanly and that he and Payne have worked together before.
Eddy and Payne are the only two candidates who have filed to run for the nomination.
The Ohio primary for 2023 will be May 2.
Reach Jacob Espinosa at 567-242-0399.
