Governor appoints longtime prosecutor as Tiffin-Fostoria Municipal Court judge

Tiffin, Ohio — Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has appointed longtime prosecutor Rhonda L. Best as judge of the Tiffin-Fostoria Municipal Court, the governor’s office announced Friday.

Best, of Tiffin, will assume office on Dec. 5, 2022. The judicial appointment fills the vacancy left by Mark Repp, who was removed from the bench by Tiffin City Council in June. Repp was suspended from the practice of law by the Supreme Court of Ohio for jailing a courtroom spectator who refused to take a drug test. Best must win election in 2023 in order to complete the unexpired term ending Dec. 31, 2025.

Best started her career in law in the Seneca County Probate Court as a court investigator and staff attorney, and then worked in the Seneca County Prosecutor’s Office for 12 years.

Best later served as the assistant prosecuting attorney in the misdemeanor crimes division of the Crawford County Prosecutor’s Office. Most recently, she was prosecuting attorney in the misdemeanor crimes division in the Seneca County Prosecutor’s Office.

Best received her law degree from the University of Toledo College of Law. Prior to earning her law degree, she earned her bachelor of arts degree in English writing from Heidelberg University.

She is the founding member of the Seneca-Wyandot-Crawford Tri-County Women’s Bar Association, Vice President of the Crawford County Bar Association, and a member CROSSWAEH CBCF, the Ohio Bar Association, and the Seneca County Bar Association. Best has also dedicated her time to helping victims of domestic violence as a former board member of First Step, a domestic violence shelter.