The Shelby Area Democratic Club hosted the Truman-Kennedy Breakfast this weekend, where Judge John O’Donnell delivered a keynote address. The breakfast was well attended, with over 50 attendees who gathered at First United Church of Christ in Shelby.
O’Donnell serves as judge at the Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court. He was first elected in 2002, then again in 2006 and reelected again in 2012. His term will end on January 1, 2019. On September 26, 2013, he announced he would campaign against Justice Judith French for her seat on the Ohio Supreme Court in 2014.
Garland John Gates, President of the Shelby Area Democratic Club, served as the event’s master of ceremonies. “We are so pleased to have Judge John O’Donnell with us today. He is a distinguished jurist and outstanding public servant,” said Gates.
The club’s Truman-Kennedy Breakfast started in 2008 as a fundraising event for Democratic candidates around Ohio. It is held in May because both Presidents Harry S. Truman and John F. Kennedy had birthdays in May. The Shelby Area Democratic Club was organized first in 1978 and has been meeting on the third Thursday of every month in the Sutter Roush Room on 23 East Main Street in Shelby.
In attendance at the breakfast were Democratic public officials from around Ohio and Richland County. Included were Phil Scott (Democratic candidate for County Commissioner), councilwoman Ellen Haring, Magistrate Natalie Haupt, and Judge Phil Mayer. Mayer gave an introduction to Judge O’Donnell.
O’Donnell has authored over 100 judicial opinions, which Mayer pointed out as unusual. “But that is excellent training to one day end up as a Supreme Court judge. He’s also consistently been rated excellent in his ranking from his fellow peers,” said Mayer.
For the keynote address, O’Donnell shared a story of how he spent his Valentine’s Day.
“On Valentine’s Day I had sitting on the left side of my court about 30 family members and friends of a young woman, 19-years-old, who had been killed by the side of the roadway. On the right side of the courtroom I had about 15 to 20 family members of the defendant’s who killed her,” he shared.
He went on to explain that the man who had killed the young woman fled the scene the night it happened. The man was 62-years-old and had no criminal record other than a DUI years before. O’Donnell said he received dozens of letters from both families that pleaded with him to either put the man away for the maximum amount of time in prison, or to plead him to have mercy. The man plead guilty to aggravated vehicular homicide and is now serving time in prison.
“I tell you this for this reason. She (Justice Judith French) has never had to stand there and tell a person they’re going to prison and explain exactly why. Sometimes it seems unjust. She has never had to sit there and tell a family that the person who killed their loved one is going to prison, but maybe not as long as they think he should and why,” said O’Donnell. “She has qualifications- but not my qualifications,” he added.
After O’Donnell’s address, Gates concluded the Truman-Kennedy breakfast by handing out two awards: Give ‘Em Hell Award and Profiles in Courage Award. The Give ‘Em Hell Award was presented to Crawford- Richland Central Labor Council of the AFLC. Their to receive the award for President Ron Davis were Carl Neutzling and John Perry. The Profiles in Courage Award was given to Shelby Area Democratic Club Vice President Ted Clabaugh.
For more information on Shelby Area Democratic Club, visit their website or call 419-347-3337. To learn more about candidate Judge John P. O’Donnell, visit his website.
