Yvette McGee Brown fell only two percentage points shy of becoming the first black lieutenant governor in Ohio, but just a few weeks later, she claimed another spot in that state’s history.
Then-Gov. Ted Strickland, McGee Brown’s former running mate, appointed her to the Ohio State Supreme Court to fill a vacancy created when Justice Maureen O’Conner was elected chief justice on Nov. 2. That appointment made McGee Brown the first African-American female justice on the Ohio Supreme Court.
Justice McGee Brown will have to run in 2012 to continue serving on the state’s highest court, where she currently is the only Democrat seated among seven justices.
McGee Brown’s appointment has been welcomed in Ohio’s legal community.
“While we understand the historical significance of her appointment, I am pleased that the governor appointed such a highly qualified person to the bench,” said Anthony Sharett, president of the John Mercer Langston Bar Association, a black lawyers’ organization in central Ohio.
“Judge McGee Brown has the intelligence, fairness and acumen to reason and listen to both sides of the case before the court,” Sharett told BlackAmericaWeb.com. “Her appointment to the state Supreme Court shows that if you have integrity and you work hard, you can achieve great things.”
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article courtesy of BlackAmericaWeb.com
