Staff report

CORTLAND — Trumbull County Central District Court Judge Thomas A. Campbell has announced that he will run to become the next judge of the Trumbull County Probate Court in the 2026 election.

Current Probate Judge James Fredericka cannot run for reelection because of the state’s age limit law.

Campbell, a lifelong Republican, will run in the May 2026 primary. Campbell has served as judge of the Central District Court in Cortland for more than 30 years. He was appointed to that position by Governor George Voinovich in 1995, and has been elected and re-elected to the court six times. He is also the presiding and administrative judge for the combined Eastern and Central District Courts.

Campbell has actively practiced law for 37 years, primarily in business, estate planning and probate matters.

Campbell said he believes his years of service demonstrate that he has earned the public’s trust, and he intends to put that trust and experience to work for the public and the taxpayers at the probate court.

If he is elected, it will be a homecoming of sorts.

Campbell worked full-time at the probate court under Judge Thomas Swift from 1981 to 1986, while he was attending classes as a night student at Kent State University Trumbull Campus and at the University of Akron School of Law.

Campbell said he believes that the probate court under Fredericka, is well run and he does not anticipate making any drastic changes. However, he does have some ideas for improvement.

One improvement Campbell said he plans is to expand public access to records via the internet by upgrading the online docket to provide images of actual public records on file rather than just a docket reference to those records.

Campbell said he also would like to establish a Help Desk / Resource Center program to assist family members of decedents better understand the probate process, and how to handle smaller, less complicated estates, possibly without the expense of hiring an attorney.

He also would like to explore the possibility of creating an Assisted Outpatient Treatment Program to help address issues in the commitment and treatment of those suffering from mental health crises in more economical and less restrictive, safe environments.

Earlier this year, Campbell redirected $100,000 from restricted funds held by his current court to the Mental Health and Recovery Board for a treatment program for prisoners at the Trumbull County jail. Campbell previously served as councilman and as mayor of Orangeville, where he was raised as the sixth of seven children of James and Evelyn Campbell.

Campbell lives with his wife, Marleah Campbell, in Cortland.