Local attorney Jacob Estes will be the next Judge of the Bellefontaine Municipal Court after winning Tuesday’s Primary Election contest, 1,985-1,070 over Crystal Welsh, according to unofficial results from the Logan County Board of Elections.
Tuesday’s primary election victory paves the way for Estes to run unopposed in the November General Election, as no Democrat filed to contest the seat.
Estes opened up an early lead in absentee voting, and that lead expanded as votes rolled in. Estes won the absentee balloting, 835-395.
For Estes, winning election as judge is the culmination of a “dream” over 20 years in the making. Estes said his pursuit of a judgeship began in 2001 when he began working as a Juvenile Probation Officer with Judge Michael Brady of the Logan County Juvenile Court.
“It’s been a long time dream of mine and a long time coming; all of these experiences that built toward this today,” he said Tuesday night. “I’m very excited to begin serving in the new role as judge, come January.
“It was such a wonderful campaign and so many people on my campaign committee who stepped up to help. I couldn’t have done what we did without their help. They were in my corner and there wasn’t anything in it for them. It was one of the most humbling experiences I’ve ever had.”
Welsh, the current city prosecutor for the Bellefontaine Municipal Court for the last three-plus years, had hoped that her experience in the courtroom would carry more weight with voters.
“Of course, I’m disappointed, but I gave it everything I had and I am forever grateful for all my supporters,” Welsh said Tuesday night.
“I want to congratulate my opponent on an amazing campaign and she she should be very proud of her efforts,” Estes said.
Prior to becoming an attorney, Estes served the Logan County Juvenile Court as a probation officer from 2001-2003 and was a parole officer for the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction from 2003-2013.
In private practice, Estes serves Logan and surrounding counties in the areas of criminal, family and probate law. In addition to his law practice, he has served as a lecturer for The Ohio State University for the past nine years, and has also taught a course at the Urbana University and Bluffton College.
In addition to the strong backing from his campaign committee, Estes related that he has been buoyed by the encouragement of his family as well.
“I want to express a huge thank you to my wife, who has supported me in chasing my dreams, starting with the busyness of the four years of law school and working full-time,” he said of his wife Jennifer (Boy) Estes, with whom he’ll mark 24 years of marriage this summer.
