Ray takes down Tischler

FREMONT — Republican voters in Sandusky County made their voices heard by supporting the re-election bid of Judge Jeremiah Ray for the Sandusky County Common Pleas Court judge's seat. Unofficial results from Tuesday's election show Ray receiving about 60% of the total vote in this GOP primary, defeating his lone challenger, Sandusky County prosecutor Beth Tischler. Normally, a judge wouldn't be declared until a general election in November. But no Democrat submitted petitions to run for this office. Additionally, those from other parties, including Libertarians or independents, did not file. Thus, the winner of the primary — which comes with a six-year term starting in February — will be the likely winner when the choice opens up to all voters for the November general election. Contentious race The primary election followed a contentious Facebook exchange between the two candidates over a finding from Ohio state auditor Keith Faber stating county juvenile court Judge Brad Smith had improperly created invoices in the amount of $33,300 to two local nonprofits. The auditor sought to recover that amount, but an abatement agreement was reached and signed off on by Tischler. The document states that the county auditor and the Ohio Attorney General's Office, whose approval was needed to grant the abatement agreement, also signed off on the agreement. Ray, in postings online, had argued that an average citizen would not have "gotten off the hook" and been granted the kind of agreement Tischler approved. Tischler responded to the claims by sharing an April 25 Facebook post from Smith. Smith responded to the allegations in a lengthy post on April 24, claiming that Ray failed to mention that no money was ordered repaid because the abatement agreement determined that county money was not lost or misspent. Following the news of his successful re-election bid, Ray posted the following statement on his campaign Facebook page. "Thank you, Sandusky County. I'm incredibly grateful for the trust and confidence you placed in me," he wrote. "For more than 7 years, I've worked every day to serve this community with fairness, integrity and respect for the law. I'm honored to continue that work as your common pleas judge." Sandusky County Court of Common Pleas (1 wins) • Jeremiah Ray: 4,388 • Beth A. Tischler: 3,016 Note: According to unofficial results Source: Sandusky County Board of Elections