DOBSON SAYS HE’S SHOWN COMMITMENT TO MAKING SURE VICTIMS HAVE A VOICE
By JAN McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Wood County Prosecuting Attorney Paul Dobson has spent 25 years in the prosecutor’s office representing the rights of victims of crime. He would like to continue making sure victims are heard as a Wood County Common Pleas Court judge.
Dobson, a Republican, is running to unseat incumbent Judge Joel Kuhlman, a Democrat.
“Increasingly, victims of crime feel unheard and undervalued in the system,” Dobson said. “We need to be standing with them, giving them voice.”
Dobson started with the prosecutor’s office in 1996, left for private practice in 1998, then returned to public service in 2003. He served as chief assistant of the criminal division in 2005, then took over as head of the office in 2009.
As a prosecuting attorney, his focus has been on finding justice for victims of crime.
“They have to walk into a room of strangers and be questioned about the most private, personal thing that ever happened to them,” Dobson said. “We need to work as diligently as we can, to make sure their voice is heard and a vital part of the process. We can do a better job to make sure their rights are protected.”
In 2024, Dobson was named Ohio’s Outstanding Prosecutor of the Year, with his focus on victims being recognized.
“I’ve had a job to do. At the same time, I hope my record would show that I’m firm and fair,” he said.
If elected as a common pleas judge, Dobson would like to create specialized drug and mental health courts.
Dobson noted his office’s creation of the Addiction Response Collaborative, which serves as a diversion program for defendants with drug addictions. He pointed out that unlike other counties, Wood County’s Common Pleas Courts have no “specialty courts” dedicated to cases involving defendants with drug and mental health issues.
“Only judges can create those kind of programs,” he said.
The specialized dockets would not mean new courts, but would assign the county’s common pleas judges willing to handle cases involving drugs or mental health issues, he said.
“I want to be a positive part of the solution,” he said.
Dobson pointed out his experience in the courtroom.
“I’ve been a trial attorney for over 30 years,” he said, adding that “while I admire Judge Kuhlman, I have more experience.”
Dobson said party affiliation is irrelevant for judges. “Everyone needs to understand that party affiliation doesn’t mean anything to me,” he said. “Everyone gets the best work out of this office.”
Dobson also welcomed the opportunity to “clear the air” about the sale of his home in Middleton Township for the Meta data center. The sale of his home was handled the same as his neighbors’ homes near the intersection of Ohio 582 and Mercer Road, he said.
“We had just put on a new patio and deck,” he said of the home he and his wife had lived in for 19 years. “We weren’t intending on moving.”
Dobson said he recognized the sale of his home could appear as a conflict of interest, so he told staff in his office that they could no longer represent Middleton Township on any Meta issues.
INCUMBENT KUHLMAN SAYS HIS RULINGS ARE FAIR, IMPARTIAL AND EFFICIENT
By JAN McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Serving as a Wood County Common Pleas Judge since 2021, Joel Kuhlman prides himself in making solid decisions that have stood up to challenges – and doing it efficiently.
The Democratic incumbent for Wood County Common Pleas Judge, Kuhlman has handled an average of 350 civil and 270 criminal cases a year.
When Kuhlman took over the judgeship, cases ruled on by the court were overturned every three months. Now that happens an average of 23 months.
“The quality of decisions has gone up,” he said. “I take my job very seriously. I think about the community I want to live in when I’m hearing cases and employing the law. It’s important that people have faith in the system in Wood County.”
Prior to becoming a judge, Kuhlman served as a Wood County commissioner from 2012-2016, and served in the private law practice of Stearns and Hammer.
“There’s no experience like being a judge,” Kuhlman said. “It takes organizational skills, a demeanor that allows you to work with all involved, and a fair and impartial ruling the parties can be confident in.”
Prior to him becoming judge, Kuhlman said non-violent criminal cases in his court were taking just as long as violent crimes to complete – even though 98% of the lower level cases were ending with no trials, with recommendations from the prosecutors and defense attorneys for community control.
That just didn’t make sense to him. The less complicated cases should not be taking as much of the court’s time, Kuhlman said.
So he rearranged how cases are scheduled, “that frees up a lot of time for the court to handle more complicated cases.”
On the civil side, Kuhlman said he also made changes that benefit the plaintiff and defendant. Instead of collections cases taking 10 to 12 months to resolve, they are now often completed in three months – which means the plaintiffs can begin collecting amounts due to them faster. And the defendants, he said, can have the opportunity for a mutually agreed upon resolution.
As for the creation of special drug or mental health courts, suggested by his opponent, Paul Dobson, Kuhlman said the three common pleas judges in Wood County have talked about adopting that process. All three have attended continuing education courses on drug dockets.
“I’ve always been open to that,” he said, adding, “I have not heard anything from Paul Dobson about a drug court prior to the last three months.”
Kuhlman is supportive of programs that provide offenders with treatment during and after incarceration. He has spoken highly of the IGNITE program used at the Wood County Jail.
“Training them for a job once they leave is a huge advantage,” he said. “A stable income is key, and routine prevents future crimes and has positive effects on families.”
Kuhlman said he agrees with Dobson that politics should not play a role in judgeships.
“I don’t know of a case where politics has had a place in my decision making,” he said.
