Trending
YOUNGSTOWN -- The race for an open seat on Ohio’s 7th District Court of Appeals has been an intriguing one, with both candidates making headlines in their own way.
Republican Mark Hanni is trying to extend his tenure on the court by seeking a different seat on the panel. Plenty of drama also surrounded his primary campaign.
His opponent is Democrat Katherine Rudzik of Poland, the Mahoning County Clerk of Courts’ chief deputy clerk under embattled Clerk of Courts Michael P. Ciccone, who entered the race as a write-in candidate in the May primary after no other Democrat filed.
The candidates are seeking the six-year term beginning Feb. 10, 2027, in the seat being vacated by Judge Cheryl Waite, who is retiring after 30 years on the appeals court.
Rudzik’s candidacy comes as Democrats seek to regain representation on the appeals court after losing seats in recent elections.
The 7th District hears appeals from courts in Columbiana, Belmont, Carroll, Harrison, Jefferson, Monroe and Noble counties, and of course Mahoning County, where the two parties have become more competitive in recent years. The other seven other counties have generally favored Republicans.
Hanni was elected to the court in 2022, defeating longtime Judge Gene Donofrio. Hanni’s current term expires in 2029, and he would be unable to seek reelection in 2028 because of Ohio’s age restrictions for judicial candidates.
By winning Waite’s seat, Hanni could remain on the court for four additional years beyond the end of his current term.
In May, Hanni defeated attorney David “Chip” Comstock, chief of Poland’s Western Reserve Joint Fire District, in the Republican primary. Rudzik was unopposed for the Democratic nomination as a write-in candidate.
HANNI
Hanni is the son of former Mahoning County Democratic Party Chairman Don Hanni Jr. He said he became a Republican in 2016.
His 2022 victory over Donofrio was among the first appellate judicial elections conducted under a state law requiring candidates’ political affiliations to appear on general election ballots.
Hanni defeated Donofrio by 29,000 votes districtwide, although Donofrio carried Mahoning County.
The judge has made his political and religious views prominent features of his campaign.
In a statement released on the day of the May primary, Hanni described his candidacy as part of a broader conflict over values.
“I feel deeply blessed to have had the opportunity to participate in this election and to stand before the people of Ohio representing my values openly and honestly,” he said. “We are living in a time of spiritual warfare. This is not just a battle between Republicans and Democrats. Increasingly, this is a battle between good and evil. The people are hungry for leaders who are willing to represent their real values publicly instead of hiding behind carefully crafted talking points and political language.”
Hanni also drew criticism during the primary for campaign signs featuring President Donald Trump and Jesus Christ, with messaging emphasizing his support for Trump.
His campaign coincided with several other controversies.
In April, former Trumbull County Recorder Tod Latell filed a federal lawsuit against Hanni, his wife, Trumbull County Recorder Dawn Zinni-Hanni, and Trumbull County.
The lawsuit alleges civil conspiracy, defamation, abuse of political authority or influence and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
The litigation has continued since the primary. Latell filed a second amended complaint in August, and Hanni subsequently filed a motion seeking its dismissal.
Hanni also was involved in an April 11 crash in which his Cadillac Escalade struck a fast-food restaurant in Bridgeport, causing damage to the building’s interior and exterior. He was not cited.
During the primary campaign, Hanni sought to intervene in a federal lawsuit challenging the Ohio law requiring party affiliations to appear on appellate and Supreme Court judicial ballots.
Hanni has defended his decision to express his political and religious beliefs publicly, arguing that voters want candidates who are open about their values.
RUDZIK
Rudzik has practiced law for nearly 20 years and became Mahoning County’s chief deputy clerk Oct. 20, 2025, following the dismissal of Jennifer Ciccone by Clerk of Courts Michael Ciccone.
She was winding down her private law practice when she accepted the position.
Rudzik earned a bachelor’s degree in fine arts from the University of Southern California in 1998 and a law degree from the University of Akron in 2006.
She has been licensed to practice law in Ohio since 2006 and also holds law licenses in New York, California and Florida.
Her legal experience includes criminal defense, DUI cases, personal injury, real estate and civil litigation. She also has experience in appellate proceedings, including representing a party in a case decided by the 7th District Court of Appeals in 2010.
Rudzik filed as a Democratic write-in candidate in February, shortly before the deadline, after no Democrat had submitted nominating petitions for Waite’s seat.
“I decided to run because no Democrat stepped forward,” Rudzik told The Vindicator at the time. “I flirted with the idea for a while. If you’re unhappy about something, you get involved. If it’s a job you want, you run for it.”
Her entry into the Democratic primary attracted attention because she was registered as a Republican and had voted in the 2022 and 2024 Republican primaries.
Before those elections, she had voted in Democratic primaries.
Rudzik said she had always considered herself a Democrat and had voted in the Republican primaries to support local candidates she knew.
Mahoning County Democratic Party Chairman Chris Anderson welcomed her return to the party.
He said Rudzik had initially circulated nominating petitions as a Democrat for the open 58th Ohio House District seat before deciding to pursue the appeals court position.
Rudzik acknowledged that running as a Democrat in the eight-county appellate district would present challenges.
“I’m not sure I can, but I’d rather run and lose as who I am,” she said in February. “Hopefully, I can turn the tide.”
The race also presents an unusual professional connection between the candidates.
As chief deputy clerk, Rudzik works in the same office as Hanni’s daughter, Meghan Hanni, who supervises the title department, and his nephew, Brent Hanni, who serves as the clerk’s fiscal officer.
Meghan Hanni was dragged into the turmoil surrounding Ciccone's fall-outs with both his wife, Emily Ciccone, and former deputy Jennifer Ciccone, when Ciccone implied in some text messages that he and Meghan Hanni had had an affair and consumed marijuana edibles together. Meghan Hanni in January produced results from a polygraph test which counters those claims and Ciccone himself has since stated no such incidents occurred.
Rudzik said in February that she was familiar with Hanni and his family and did not expect the political contest to become a personal conflict.
“It’s a little bit awkward,” she said. “I’ve been familiar with the Hanni family. If anyone understands politics, it’s Mark. He would understand me running.”