WARREN — Two candidates are vying to be elected judge on Ohio’s 11th District Court of Appeals.

Shelley M. Pratt, a Republican based out of Hubbard, is seeking to unseat the incumbent, John J. Eklund, a Republican based out of Chardon.

Eklund, 68, has served on the 11th District Court of Appeals since 2021. He was appointed by Gov. Mike DeWine to fill a vacant seat and was elected to serve a full term in 2022.

Prior to that, Eklund was state senator for Ohio’s 18th District from 2011 to 2020 and worked as an attorney / partner for a private practice, Calfee, Halter & Griswold LLP, from 1980 to 2021.

He serves on the Board of Lake-Geauga Habitat for Humanity and Extended Housing (Lake County). He has served on the boards of Geauga County YMCA, the Chagrin River Land Conservancy, United Way Services of Geauga County (chairman) and the Munson Township Zoning Commission (chairman).

Eklund said if reelected, he hopes to “establish, maintain and enhance peoples’ confidence in our system of government and justice,” according to his pre-election questionnaire.

Similarly, Eklund said he hopes to continue “informing and educating,” citizens about the judicial system. He also noted maintaining integrity, decency and responsibility, and “safeguarding our constitutions and laws and rendering fair, unbiased decisions.”

“All of which to be pursued by being open-minded; never being outcome-oriented in my rulings; maintaining assiduous decency, integrity and responsibility during my term as judge and in my life; and continuing to be a lifelong student of the law,” Eklund said.

PRATT

Pratt, 50, also boasts nearly 20 years of legal experience.

Pratt was an assistant prosecutor in Ashtabula County for 17 years. In 2022, she left to become an assistant prosecutor in Columbiana County, where she is employed.

“In both positions I served as the office’s appellate prosecutor. I’ve practiced before the 11th and 7th District Court of Appeals, in addition to the Supreme Court of Ohio, where I have argued numerous cases,” Pratt said.

If elected, Pratt would be the only judge from Trumbull County on the 11th District Court of Appeals.

If elected, Pratt said she would look to use her “nearly two decades of appellate experience gained as an appellate prosecutor to competently, fairly and impartially apply the law as written in the United States and Ohio constitutions and the laws derived from them.”

Pratt also said she seeks to instill confidence in the judicial system by “consistently applying the law in an efficient manner while treating everyone with fairness and respect.”

She also said she wants to expand her commitment to public service by “serving a larger section of the community as an appellate court judge and proudly serving the people of Trumbull County.”

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