Rambo Defeats Trapp for Common Pleas Seat
Russell Township Trustee Matt Rambo defeated Judge Mary Jane Trapp by six percentage points in the Nov. 5 race for a seat on the Geauga County Court of Common Pleas.
Russell Township Trustee Matt Rambo defeated Judge Mary Jane Trapp by six percentage points in the Nov. 5 race for a seat on the Geauga County Court of Common Pleas.
Trapp earned 22,050 votes while Rambo received 25,048, according to final unofficial results of the Geauga County Board of Elections — a difference of about 53% to 47%.
“I am overjoyed that the voters of Geauga County have chosen me to be their next common pleas judge and I will work tirelessly to serve them the best that I can,” Rambo said when reached by phone Tuesday night. “I thank my family and especially my wife, Stephanie, and the Geauga County Republican Party for their support.”
Rambo also congratulated Trapp on her long legal career and a race well run.
Trapp, who will retain her seat on the Ohio Eleventh District Court of Appeals until February, said she was disappointed in the result of the race, but is looking forward to completing her term on the appellate court and then serving as a visiting judge.
“I’ve been thankful to serve the people of Geauga County and my four other counties for 12 years,” she said, adding she has won the county twice before because of bipartisan support.
“I have won the county twice before because I’ve always enjoyed that kind of crossover support. The difficulty is running in a presidential year,” she said. “Whatever happens at the top of the ticket usually goes all the way down, even in nonpartisan judicial races.
“It’s disappointing, but like I said, I’m still continuing to serve people until February, and I will come back and serve as a visiting judge and do private mediation,” she added. “There’s always a Plan B.”
