Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas Judge William Vodrey easily defeated primary challenger James Sean Gallagher in the only contested Democratic primary for Cuyahoga County judge.
The contest was lopsided from the start 鈥� Vodrey had a 15,000 vote advantage in the early voting tally, which was announced shortly after polls closed. That lead remained largely the same into the night as Election Day results came in.
Vodrey was first elected to the bench in 2020 after spending 19 years as a magistrate in Cleveland Municipal Court. Gallagher is an assistant prosecutor in Cuyahoga County. This was his first campaign.
Neither Vodrey nor Gallagher were available for comment on the night of the primary.
During the campaign, Vodrey said he believed Gallagher was running because Prosecutor Michael O鈥橫alley鈥檚 office wanted him out of office.
鈥淚 know the county prosecutor's office has been very displeased with some of my decisions, my handling of some cases, most notably the New Era Cleveland case last summer,鈥� said Vodrey.
Last year, three activists from New Era Cleveland were charged with more than a dozen felonies, including kidnapping and extortion. The trial was held in Vodrey鈥檚 court and culminated with prosecutors seeking a mistrial at the Ohio Supreme Court as jurors were beginning to deliberate.
The court did not grant the mistrial and the jury came back with a not guilty verdict on all counts.
Neither Gallagher nor O鈥橫alley鈥檚 office commented on whether the race was in response to the New Era trial or other cases in Vodrey鈥檚 court.
The editorial board of Cleveland.com/The Plain Dealer and the county party endorsed Vodrey. He received an 鈥渆xcellent鈥� rating from the bar associations that take part in while Gallagher received three 鈥渟atisfactory鈥� ratings and a 鈥渘ot recommended.鈥�
On his campaign website, Gallagher鈥檚 sole criticism of Vodrey was his court鈥檚 efficiency and the length of time it takes to complete cases.
According to Vodrey, he inherited a docket in 2021 with one of the largest backlogs in the county and defended taking time with each case.
鈥淓very single case needs to get the time and attention that it deserves and, systemically, I hope to continue the same approach that I鈥檝e done so far that has already brought my docket down from the docket that I inherited,鈥� said Vodrey.
Vodrey will face a Republic challenger - former prosecutor and appeals court judge Timothy Clary - in November.
