To the editor:

I am the city prosecutor in Tiffin, Ohio. I am 54 years old and matriculated from the University of Virginia with a B.A. in economics and history. I have a Juris Doctor from Capital Law School. I am married with one daughter and two sons.

I do not believe in the careerism of judges who quit currently elected posts early, at taxpayer expense, for their own advancement. Judicial elections costs are multiplied to cover primaries and general elections of new judges to fill the post of those who quit before their term is finished. This disregard of taxpayer funds for the purpose of career advancement is the hidden cost of judicial politics. I am firmly opposed to this practice and I am happy to say that I have not, do not, and will not engage in this conduct.

I am also the solicitor for four villages. I worked for Legal Aid Columbus in Marion for one year serving the poor. Prior to that I worked for the firm Calig and Handelman for five years and my own practice for seven years. I am licensed in the U.S. Supreme Court, Ohio, and the federal courts of Ohio both Southern and Northern districts.

I have refused all donations and I am self-funded. How can one make impartial decisions based upon the law and Constitution alone if one takes offered donations from both judges and lawyers who will appear in front of you?

The law is a fence around the playground of our freedoms where we can dance, play, sing, drink and frolic. Outside this fence we have no freedoms but are victims to those who would assault our persons and steal our property. This is why the fourth stanza of the song, “America the Beautiful,” ends with the phrase, “thy liberty in Law.”

As a member of the Conservative Club of Tiffin, I know that more needs to be done to protect our constitutional rights that I love. Common sense is not common anymore. I wish to be an apostle of common sense.

If you do not want to maintain the fence of the rule of law, common sense, fiscal responsibility and service to country, do not vote for me. If you do love these things, vote in the Republican primary March 15 for Richard Henry Palau for judge of the 3rd District Court of Appeals.

Richard Henry Palau

Tiffin