COLUMBUS---Gov. John R. Kasich has announced that he has selected Seventh District Court of Appeals Judge Mary DeGenaro to replace Ohio Supreme Court Justice William O’Neill, who has announced that he will retire on January 26. O’Neill has served on the Supreme Court of Ohio since 2013 and his term expires on January 1, 2019. DeGenaro must run in Nov., 2018 to retain the seat.
      “Judge DeGenaro is a distinguished legal thinker and I am proud to appoint her to the Supreme Court. She is an accomplished judge with a record of working constructively with colleagues and she has served with distinction as a visiting justice to the Supreme Court on several occasions. Her command of the law is strong and she brings a conservative philosophy to the court that is evident in her 17-year record on the appellate bench. Ohioans are fortunate to have committed judges like her and I am glad that her skills and ability will now be put to work on our state’s highest court,” said Kasich.
      DeGenaro, of Poland, Oh., is a graduate of the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law (1986), served 14 years in private practice before her election in 2000 as judge on the Seventh District Court of Appeals, based in Youngstown. She served as presiding judge on that court for the 2007-08 and 2013-14 terms and has sat by assignment on the Ohio Supreme Court and numerous appellate district courts. DeGenaro is vice president of the Ohio Women’s Bar Association and has served on the executive committee of the Ohio Judicial Conference since 2013. She has volunteered as a judge with the Ohio High School Mock Trial Competition since 2002 and collaborates with the Ohio Civility Consortium, designed to educate and promote civil discourse.
      Judge DeGenaro was first elected to the Seventh District Court of Appeals in 2000; prior to joining the court, she served on Poland Village Council. She also was an adjunct faculty member in YSU’s Political Science Department.
      In 2002-2003, Judge DeGenaro was appointed by former Chief Justice Thomas J. Moyer to serve as a member of the Voter Education & Public Funding Working Group to further the Chief Justice’s policy initiative Judicial Impartiality: The Next Step Forum, to address multiple issues involving judicial races and preserving the integrity of Ohio’s judiciary. This working group’s effort resulted in an annual voter’s guide for Ohio Supreme Court races prepared by the Ohio League of Women Voters.
      In 2005 Judge DeGenaro began her service on the OSBA Appellate Practice Specialty Certification Board as a founding member, which administers the specialty bar examination, and approves the applications of attorneys seeking and maintaining this certification in Ohio.
      Involved in a variety of community organizations, Judge DeGenaro’s current service includes the Board of Trustees of the Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County and the Mahoning Valley Historical Society. Her past service includes the External Advisory Committees for the Ohio Center for the Advancement of Women in Public Service at Cleveland State University, and Youngstown State University’s College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences.
     
      PICTURED: Judge Mary DeGenaro speaking at a fund-raising event held at the Raupp Ave. home of C. R. Smith in 2011.