After four failed runs for judicial office, Mark Davis is giving up politics, at least for now.
Mr. Davis, who lent his campaign $55,000 this year to run for a seat on Toledo Municipal Court, emptied his campaign finance account at the Lucas County Board of Elections and closed it out.
"I don't have any plans to run again," Mr. Davis said Tuesday. "I gave it my best shot and repeatedly tried to seek office and fell short, so now it's time to move on and be the best attorney I can be."
He ran in a three-way contest for an open seat created by the retirement of Democratic Judge Francis X. Gorman.
Mr. Davis, a lawyer in private practice, advertised on TV and blanketed the city with signs, but negative ratings by the Toledo Bar Association and complaints from former clients dogged him.
He ended up losing to Democrat Michelle Wagner, assistant Sylvania city prosecutor, by 57 to 28 percent, with independent David Toska, Toledo chief prosecutor, taking 15 percent. Mr. Davis also ran for judgeships in 2006, 2009, and 2010.
According to final campaign finance reports for the 2011 campaign, Mr. Davis was the highest spender among the races for Toledo Municipal Court and Toledo City Council with a total of $58,049.
Ms. Wagner spent $53,418 during the entire campaign, ending with a debt of $8,000 to herself and $5,621 left in her account.
Mr. Davis outspent Ms. Wagner earlier in the campaign, up to Oct. 19, but Ms. Wagner spent twice as much as Mr. Davis in the final weeks.
She said her level of fund-raising was "necessary."
"It was indicative of the lawyer support we had. We needed to raise that money because of the name recognition my opponent had," she said, referring to Mr. Davis.
Ms. Wagner's contributions reported in the period totaled $11,659. In addition to individual contributions it included large donations from several unions, including $1,000 from the Northwest Ohio Regional Council of Carpenters, $650 from the Ohio United Auto Workers, and $500 from the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 8.
Her $23,537 in spending during the final weeks of the campaign went for advertising, mailing supplies, and campaign consulting.
Mr. Davis' report shows he carried over $20,498 from Oct. 19 and had no contributions afterward. He reimbursed himself $9,364 and spent most of the remaining $11,133 on TV ads and signs.
Mr. Toska spent $3,599 in the final weeks for a campaign total of $7,867.
Candidates were required to report to the Lucas County Board of Elections by last Friday their contributions and expenditures for the period of Oct. 20 through Dec. 9.
Contact Tom Troy at tomtroy@theblade.com or 419-724-6058.
First Published December 21, 2011, 5:35 a.m.
