Wood County Prosecuting Attorney Paul Dobson announced today that he filed petitions for his fourth term as prosecutor. The primary election will be in March of 2020, and the general election in November.
“I am so grateful that the great citizens of Wood County have blessed me with their faith and this position for the last 11 years. This county and this office have seen tremendous changes in those years and I have been privileged to witness their strength, growth and resilience,” Dobson said.
“We are still heavily engaged in the battle against illegal drugs and it is our continued duty to use all of the resources available to engage in this fight appropriately. We must support and assist those struggling with addiction and desiring to be free. We should offer opportunities for help and accountability to those who commit crimes because of their addiction, although our focus must remain on protecting innocent citizens from victimization. And we will continue to deal heavily with those who promote the illegal industry that is the illicit drug trade,” he said.
Dobson has been a prosecutor for nearly all of his 25-year legal career. He was first hired to the county in 1996 by then prosecutor Alan Mayberry, who is now a Wood County Common Pleas judge. Except for a short time in private practice, Dobson served in the criminal division and was promoted to chief over that department in 2005 by then prosecutor Raymond Fischer. After Fischer announced in 2007 that we would not seek re-election in 2008, Dobson won a four-candidate primary race. With no opponent in the general election, Dobson took office in January 2009, and has held the office since.
In 2016, Dobson was elected by the membership of the Ohio Prosecuting Attorneys Association as its president for 2017. He has been a governor’s appointee to the Ohio Criminal Sentencing Commission and now serves on its advisory committee. Dobson has testified many times before the Ohio House and Senate on issues including civil forfeiture and child restraint law. Most recently, he testified on a bill currently pending before the legislature sponsored by Sen. Theresa Gavarone to increase penalties for those trafficking drugs in the vicinity of a rehabilitation facility.
In 2017, Dobson obtained a grant from the Ohio Attorney General’s Office and combined it with funds from several local entities. With the cooperation of Wood County Sheriff Mark Wasylyshyn, he formed the Addiction Response Collaborative, to assist Wood County in answering the opiate epidemic still facing the nation. The ARC Program, as it is known, was recently recognized in a video and press release by the Ohio Attorney General’s Office for its work in assisting those struggling with drug addiction.
