But Cassandra Rice, an attorney with Foos & Lentz who would have faced Wright in the Democratic primary in May, said she believes he decided to throw his hat into the ring to try to help the Republican incumbent, Judge David Brannon, win reelection. Wright supported Brannon when he first ran for the bench in the last election cycle six years ago.
Rice said video evidence strongly suggests that Brannon supported Wright’s decision to run.
Surveillance video footage obtained the Dayton Daily News from the Montgomery County Board of Elections shows Wright on Feb. 4 walking up to and leaving with Judge Brannon and his bailiff immediately after he filed his petitions to enter the contest. Brannon and Bailiff Ryan Colvin hung around outside of the board office until Wright finished his paperwork and departed.
Brannon told the Dayton Daily News that he is limited in what he can say about the claims and positions of political opponents because of the canons of judicial conduct and ethical rules.
Colvin told this news outlet that he was at the board office that day because he was still deciding whether he wanted to file petitions to vie for a seat in the Ohio House. He said he ultimately decided not to seek office.
“I was not there in support of Michael Wright nor any other candidate, only for my own campaign off the clock from the Montgomery County Probate Court,” he said. “I do not recall speaking with anyone about the campaign of Cassandra Rice that day.”
Montgomery County Democratic Party Chairman Mohamed Al-Hamdani said he appreciates Wright withdrawing from the race to allow Democrats to focus on electing Rice this November.
“Mike has been a good Democrat and he’s been good to our party for a long time,” Al-Hamdani said. “I don’t know what his motivations were for running, but I am glad to see that things have worked out and he’s doing what’s best for him and his clients.”
Judicial campaign rules
Judges and judicial candidates in Ohio are held to higher standards than other candidates for public office.
Candidates and judges cannot make knowingly false statements, publicly endorse or oppose a candidate for another public office or make speeches on behalf of a political party or another candidate for public office.
“The Code of Judicial Conduct calls upon judicial candidates to be ‘scrupulously fair and accurate’ in all statements made by the candidate and his or her campaign committee and to refrain from making statements that are false,” said Denise Platfoot Lacey, a professor with the University of Dayton School of Law.
Platfoot Lacey was speaking generally and not in regard to any of the claims or allegations related to the probate judge race.
In general, it could be a violation of judicial ethics to engage in a misleading political campaign, she said.
Allegations of violations of the Code of Judicial Conduct can be reviewed or investigated by the Ohio Board of Professional Conduct and the Office of Disciplinary Counsel and sometimes by judicial election monitoring committees, she said.
If judicial campaign misconduct is determined, potential disciplinary sanctions include cease and desist orders, public reprimand, law license suspension and disbarment, Platfoot Lacey said.
Michael Wright
Wright, a well-known local attorney, filed a petition on Feb. 4 to run as a Democrat for the Montgomery County Probate Court judge’s seat. He submitted his petitions less than 90 minutes after Rice filed to run as a Democrat against the Republican incumbent, Judge Brannon. Wright picked up candidate petitions from the Board of Elections about five days earlier.
Political hopefuls are required to obtain and submit 50 valid signatures to run for probate court judge.
Wright notified the Board of Elections on March 9 that he is withdrawing from the race. Wright’s name will still appear on the May 5 ballot, but no votes cast for him will count, said officials with the Montgomery County Board of Elections. Rice is now running uncontested to be the Democratic candidate for the judgeship, and she will face Brannon this fall.
Wright told this news outlet that he filed to run because he thought he could win. He said he dropped out after further analysis and reflection.
“I concluded that I need to remain available to the clients I have committed to serve and their matters will not be completed prior to me taking the bench,” he said.
Wright also said his mother died recently and that has been very disruptive for his family.
Rice said she thinks Wright likely was hoping to defeat her in the primary and then probably planned to drop out of the race before the general election. She also agreed that a tough primary fight could drain her campaign resources ahead of the potential showdown with Brannon in November.
Rice said Wright is loyal and determined and has done many good things for the community. She said he likely joined the race because he was trying to help a friend. Wright supported Brannon when he first ran for the bench in 2020.
“I think (Wright) is going to do what he needs to do to protect people who are important to him, which I think is laudable,” Rice said.
Rice said she does not know what could have changed in 30 days with Wright’s caseload or client obligations that would convince him to get out of the race. She said she believes someone possibly tipped off Wright or Brannon or both that she filed her petitions on the afternoon of Feb. 4.
Board video
Video footage from the Montgomery County Board of Elections at around 3:53 p.m. Feb. 4, the day of the filing deadline, shows Wright sitting down at the counter, signing some papers and making a payment. Rice filed her petitions earlier that day, at around 2:30 p.m.
Colvin, who is Brannon’s bailiff and deputy court administrator, was seated in the board office near the entrance while Wright was at the counter.
At some point, Judge Brannon opens the entry door and Colvin steps outside and joins him, the video shows. They hung around and talked in the hall outside the office. When Wright exited the Board of Elections at about 4:05 p.m, he went up to Brannon and Colvin, and they all walked out together.
Rice said she thinks Brannon or Colvin or both may have been at the board office to make sure that Wright got there on time to file his petitions and that things went smoothly. She said she thinks Brannon knew she was planning to challenge him since they both were at a seminar in late January that judicial candidates are required to attend.
Al-Hamdani, the local Democratic Party chairman, said he does not know what transpired but if Wright stayed in the race both he and Rice would have been screened by the party, to determine who would get the endorsement. Al-Hamdani said the screening process would have dived into the candidates’ motivations for running.
He described Rice as “an experienced and compassionate attorney who will make an excellent judge.”
Officials with the Montgomery County Republican Party did not respond to a request for comment.
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