MANSFIELD — Richland County Prosector candidate Gary Bishop said he wants to bring integrity to the office and a sense of safety to the streets.
To do so, the Republican said he would better manage the office and work to strengthen relationships with law enforcement.
“I’ve always enjoyed that (the brotherhood) with law enforcement,” Bishop said.
He also said he would be seen at community events like ribbon cuttings and public awareness events. But, ultimately, he would be found in the courtroom — where an attorney is paid to be.
“I will not be sending unqualified and unprepared assistant prosecutors to try jury trials of great significance and importance,” Bishop said. “I want to bring back a sense of safety we once had, where women can walk down the street without fear of being attacked or exposed to drug deals in front of their children.”
Bishop is seeking the Richland County Prosecutor’s seat in a race with Democrat incumbent Bambi Couch Page, who took over the office upon the death of James Mayer.
Bishop served for six months as Wood County’s interim while Alan Mayberry ran a campaign for the Common Pleas judge seat.
During Bishop’s 17-year tenure at the Wood County prosecutor’s office, he recorded 100 convictions in felony jury trials, some of which included aggravated murder trials and one death penalty case.
Before that, he received a political science degree from Bowling Green State University, along with an English minor. He finished law school at the University of Toledo in 1986 and while in school, worked on both sides of the criminal aisle in the public defender’s office and the city’s prosecutor office.
From there, he moved on to work as a judicial law clerk under Frederick H. McDonald, who would later go on to serve as a judge for the Lucas County Court of Common Pleas. He was then recruited by Betty Montgomery to be her juvenile prosecutor before she became the state’s first female Attorney General from 1995 to 2003.
In late 2005, Bishop said he moved home to Richland County to help his mother take care of her husband after a debilitating stroke. Upon moving back, he received a job in James Mayer’s Richland County Prosecutor’s office.
“I served with his office for nine and a half years,” Bishop said.
Until Mayer’s death in September 2014, Bishop served as the office’s chief criminal trial attorney.
Bishop continued to work under Bambi Couch Page, the incumbent, until he received a job offer at the Ashland County Prosecutor’s office as a trial attorney in April 2015.
“Almost immediately upon going to work for him (Christopher Tunnell), I began to be contacted by law enforcement workers, former coworkers and ultimately victims of crime asking me to run for the Richland County prosecuting attorney,” he said.
Bishop said he’s focused his career on crimes against women and children, with experience taking every kind of criminal case under the revised code.
“Many can say they’ve prosecuted every kind of criminal case, but they can’t say they’ve gone to trial and convicted in every case,” he said. “I’m also the only person in the Richland County Prosecutor’s Office to do aggravated murder trials solo.”
He believes his experience, both in criminal law and in leadership, qualifies him for the position.
Since announcing his campaign for the Republican ticket of the county’s prosecutor, he received an endorsement from the Fraternal Order of Police.
Throughout his career, he’s been recognized by the Ohio Prosecuting Attorneys Association, the Court of Claims of Ohio Victims Section, the Ohio Attorney General’s Office, Mothers Against Drunk Drivers, and the Sexual Assault Response Collaborative of Wood County.
