When the year began, Connie Pillich was vying for the Democratic nomination for governor. Now she has decided to leave the local political scene, at least for now.
When the year began, Montgomery Democrat Connie Pillich was vying for the Democratic nomination for governor.
Now Pillich has decided to leave the local political scene, at least for now.
She resigned as co-chair of the Hamilton County Democratic Party on Monday for a job in Washington, D.C. supporting women judges and judicial candidates across the country. She started immediately as the executive director of the National Association of Women Judges in Washington, D.C.
"When I finally made the decision to do this, it was hard for me to plan to say goodbye to the Hamilton County Democratic Party and the friends I have in Cincinnati," Pillich told The Enquirer over the phone from her new home in D.C.
The resignation leaves the local Democrats without one of their biggest fundraisers. Her co-chair, Gwen McFarlin, will serve as chairperson for the remainder of the term, which expires in 2020. Pillich and McFarlin in June became the first women to lead the Hamilton County Democrats.
Pillich's experience as state representative from 2009 to 2014 and being a U.S. Air Force veteran made her a well-connected and well-known name in Ohio politics. That helped with fundraising.
"It's not like she's leaving us in the lurch," said Alex Linser, first executive co-chairperson for the Hamilton County Democrats. "Gwen has done a great job. There’s a whole leadership team behind her. But it hurts to lose Connie. Connie is an excellent fundraiser."
McFarlin said the Hamilton County Democrats will look for someone to take over Pillich's fundraising duties.
Pillich said she was ready to take a break from campaigning.
"I've been working really hard for a long time," Pillich said. "I'd say every campaign I've had has been a very challenging and rigorous campaign, each subsequent one harder than the previous one. I became a better candidate in each one."
She takes the helm of an organization that supports and recruits women judicial candidates. Two California judges founded the organization in 1979 with one of their goals to get a woman nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court. Two years later, Sandra Day O'Connor became the first female Supreme Court Justice. O'Connor is a founding member of NAWJ.
Pillich hopes to continue that work and level the playing field for women lawyers and judges.
"There are gender biases that we see from time to time in the legal profession," Pillich said. "Women because of their gender and no other reason not put on the partnership track, always pushed aside."
How does she plan to address that?
"You get excellent people to run for judge," Pillich said.