Standing on History, Building a Record, Positioning for the Future.
RICHARD WETZEL,
Leadership with a record of experience.
Grounded in the Historical Roots of our Courts.
Endorsed by the Knox County Republican Party 2016
Member NRA, Knox County Farm Bureau, Kiwanis, Rotary Club
Ohio University, 1979, B.A. History, Summa Cum Laude
Dickinson School of Law, 1982, J.D.
40 Years of Legal Experience in the courts of Ohio
Completing first full term as Knox County Common Pleas Judge
Married 32 years to Diana, with two adult children and one granddaughter
The Wetzel name is part of Knox County history, according to the 1881 edition of the History of Knox County, compiled by N.N. Hill. In 1795, after the Treaty of Greenville, a Wetzel (one of my ancestors) was one of six scouts dispatched from Fort Pitt under the command of Captain Samuel Brady to patrol the area for compliance with the terms of the peace treaty. The scouts came up Owl Creek and passed through the area where Mount Vernon now stands. The Wetzels have been in the service of the people of Knox County as early as 1795, and I aim to continue that tradition as Knox County Common Pleas Judge.
I started in the small town of McConnelsville, in Morgan County. I graduated from Morgan High School in 1975. After graduating from Ohio University summa cum laude in 1979, I received my juris doctorate from Dickinson Law School, in Carlisle, Pennsylvania in 1982. After law school, I returned to McConnelsville to open my own law office.
In 1983, I married my wife, Diana. We have two adult children, and one grandchild. Diana is the Executive Director at Knox Starting Point, a local non-profit in Mount Vernon formerly known as Care Net.
In May of 2015, I felt called to serve the community when I learned that the Honorable Judge Eyster would be retiring and his bench would be open on the Court of Common Pleas at the end of 2016. In June of 2015, I approached several leaders in the community and they encouraged me to run for election to the Court.
Over the past 40 years of legal experience across the state, and during my first term as Common Pleas Judge, I have learned what it takes to make a good judge. I want to continue to work to provide good government to the people of Knox County.
