What to know about the race for Franklin County prosecutor
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- Franklin County’s top attorney job will be up for grabs when voters go to the polls on Nov. 5.
A current Democratic member of Columbus City Council will face off against a Republican private practice attorney to lead the Franklin County prosecutor's office.
Democrat Shayla Favor has never prosecuted a felony criminal case but worked in the Columbus city attorney’s office as a legal investigator before moving to assistant city attorney, where she oversaw zoning, health, fire and building code violation cases.
Republican John Rutan, according to his campaign website, knew from his teenage years that he wanted to be either president or an attorney. He said the “watershed” moment came after spending eight days in jail for assault when he was 22.
One of these two will replace Gary Tyack, who is not seeking reelection after one term. Tyack, a Democrat, defeated longtime Republican Ron O’Brien in 2020.
The Franklin County prosecutor’s office is in charge of prosecuting all felony criminal and juvenile cases and providing legal representation to county government.
The candidates met during a bipartisan candidates’ meeting in August.
Shayla Favor
In addition to her career at the Columbus city attorney’s office, Favor has been a Columbus City Council member since 2019, replacing former council member Jaiza Page, who was elected to the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas.
Favor, who beat Natalia Harris and Anthony Pierson in March’s primary, writes on her campaign website that she is running for the office “to support our community in becoming a model county that addresses public safety while also working to reform an unjust, inequitable system.”
Among her goals as Franklin County prosecutor, Favor said she will implement “evidence-based programs” to hold violent offenders accountable, minimize “unnecessary incarceration” for low-level offenders, reduce recidivism and direct those in need of treatment to the proper resources.
More on Favor’s candidacy can be found on her campaign website here.
John Rutan
Rutan writes on his campaign website that the assault conviction scuttled his immediate plans for law school; instead, he received his paralegal certificate and worked for three years before being accepted to the University of La Verne in California and finishing law school.
Rutan ran unopposed in March’s Republican primary.
If elected, Rutan writes that he will reduce crime through “policies, programs, compassion and accountability,” including proposing tougher sentences for repeat offenders, offering rehabilitation aid to nonviolent and drug offenders, and severely prosecuting those who commit crimes against children.
More on Rutan’s candidacy can be found at his campaign website here.