MANSFIELD — Practicing attorney Beth Owens will be Richland County’s next domestic relations judge.
Owens received 60% of the vote according to final, unofficial vote totals from the Richland County Board of Elections.
Owens had 21,839 votes while her opponent, Kirsten Pscholka-Gartner, had 13,995.
Owens said she thinks her positivity and community support helped her win the campaign.
“I’m just blown away,” she said. “I believe what helped us win was the support of friends, clients and family. I had a lot of people rooting for me.”
She will be sworn in as judge in January. She said one of her primary goals is to make domestic relations court affordable and accessible.
Owens wants to accomplish this through updating the Richland County Domestic Relations Court web page to guide visitors through required forms for different cases. She said these guides and updates can help people who can’t afford an attorney.
She also wants to work with Richland County Children Services to appoint more social workers to help with custody evaluations. Owens said she is already talking with social workers and counselors about these plans.
Owens ran unopposed in the Republican primary. She has worked as an attorney at John W. Allen & Associates since 2004 and said family law are her favorite cases because of the empathy she feels she can extend to her clients.
“I plan to take the same commitment to my clients that I have now and transitioning that to a commitment to the whole county,” she said.
Pscholka-Gartner, who previously ran for Richland County Probate Court judge, said she doesn’t know what’s next for her professionally. She currently works as the chief magistrate in domestic relations court.
“I knew it would be an uphill battle based on the numbers, but I’m proud of the work I have done in the domestic relations court and of the campaign I ran,” Pscholka-Gartner said in a statement.
Pscholka-Gartner thanked her campaign supporters and volunteers.
“Your support means so much to me,” she said. “I don’t know what the future holds for me but I will continue to work hard to serve my community wherever I end up.”
