Gov. Mike DeWine  yesterday appointed attorney Timothy Sterkel as the judge for South Euclid Municipal Court.

Sterkel will join the court on Dec. 16. He must win election in November 2023 for a new six-year term on Jan. 1, 2024. He fills the seat left open when former judge Gayle Williams-Byers resigned in July after an often contentious ten year tenure. Retired judge Harry Fields has been serving the court as judge since Byers left.

Sterkel has spent 26 years as an attorney, including six years as an assistant city prosecutor for South Euclid. Prior to his work as a prosecutor, he has served as an acting judge for the municipal court. The judge-appointee also spent 12 years as a volunteer for a Cuyahoga County Juvenile Court diversion program.  

Sterkel ran unopposed for the seat this fall, but technical questions surrounded whether the election should have been held or his victory certified. The DeWine appointment appointment renders those questions moot.

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