Don Michael Crites (born June 16, 1948) is an American politician and member of the Republican Party and former

United States Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal c ...

for the Southern District of Ohio in the administrations of Presidents

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

and

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; pr ...

. He was a candidate for

Ohio Attorney General The Ohio Attorney General is the chief legal officer of the U.S. state, State of Ohio in the United States. The office is filled by general election, held every four years. The Ohio Attorney General is Republican Dave Yost. History The office ...

in 2008. He currently resides in

Powell, Ohio Powell is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio, located 14 miles (21.5 km) north of the state capital of Columbus. The city is located in Delaware County; a frequent placeholder on the List of highest-income counties in the United States, and 35t ...

Early life and education

Crites was born in Bluffton, Ohio and raised in

Lima, Ohio Lima ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Allen County, Ohio, United States. The municipality is located in northwest Ohio along Interstate 75 in Ohio, Interstate 75 approximately north of Dayton, Ohio, Dayton, southwest of Toledo, Ohio, T ...

. Upon graduation from Lima Shawnee High School in 1966, he received an appointment to the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy ...

and graduated in 1970. He was commissioned an officer in the United States Navy and served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

and Naval Reserve until October 1999 retiring with the rank of

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

. He received his B.S. from the

and his J.D. from Ohio Northern University Pettit College of Law in 1978.

Naval career

Crites is a retired captain in the United States Naval Reserve. He studied at the

Naval War College The Naval War College (NWC or NAVWARCOL) is the staff college and "Home of Thought" for the United States Navy at Naval Station Newport in Newport, Rhode Island. The NWC educates and develops leaders, supports defining the future Navy and associat ...

and

Industrial College of the Armed Forces The Dwight D. Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy (Eisenhower School), formerly known as the Industrial College of the Armed Forces (ICAF), is a part of the National Defense University. It was renamed on September 6, 20 ...

. He also served as Deputy Commander for Mission Effectiveness, Naval Reserve Readiness Command Region 8 in Jacksonville, Florida. A Vietnam veteran, Crites received the

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. The decoration is issued to members of the eight ...

Meritorious Service Medal A Meritorious Service Medal is an award presented to denote acts of meritorious service, and sometimes gallantry, that are worthy of recognition. Notable medals with similar names include: * Meritorious Civilian Service Award *Meritorious Service Me ...

Joint Service Commendation Medal The Commendation Medal is a mid-level United States military decoration presented for sustained acts of heroism or meritorious service. Each branch of the United States Armed Forces issues its own version of the Commendation Medal, with a fifth ...

Navy Commendation Medal The Commendation Medal is a mid-level United States military decoration presented for sustained acts of heroism or meritorious service. Each branch of the United States Armed Forces issues its own version of the Commendation Medal, with a fifth ...

, the

Navy Achievement Medal The Achievement Medal is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. The Achievement Medal was first proposed as a means to recognize outstanding achievement or meritorious service of military personnel who were not eligible to recei ...

, and various campaign and service awards, including the

Vietnam Service Medal The Vietnam Service Medal is a military award of the United States Armed Forces established on 8 July 1965 by order of President Lyndon B. Johnson. The medal is awarded to recognize service during the Vietnam War by all members of the U.S. A ...

and

Vietnam Campaign Medal The Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal, also known as the Vietnam Campaign Medal ( vi, Chiến Dịch Bội Tinh), is a South Vietnamese military campaign medal which was created in 1949, and awarded to French military personnel during the First ...

. A member of the

Veterans of Foreign Wars The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), formally the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, is an organization of US war veterans, who, as military service members fought in wars, campaigns, and expeditions on foreign land, waters, or a ...

, Crites was inducted into the Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame in 2000.

U.S. Attorney

Crites was nominated in 1986 by President Ronald Reagan and confirmed by a vote of the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

to be the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio. He served in that position from 1986 to 1993 in the administrations of Presidents Reagan and Bush. During his tenure as U.S. Attorney, Crites prosecuted

Pete Rose Peter Edward Rose Sr. (born April 14, 1941), also known by his nickname "Charlie Hustle", is an American former professional baseball player and manager. Rose played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1963 to 1986, most prominently as a membe ...

Legal practice

Crites' legal career has included service as United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Assistant United States Attorney, First Assistant Prosecuting Attorney (Delaware County), Assistant Prosecuting Attorney (Allen County), City Prosecutor (Lima, Ohio) and City law director for several central Ohio communities. He joined the law firm of

Dinsmore & Shohl Dinsmore is a large U.S. law firm with a lead administrative office in Cincinnati, Ohio. It is an AmLaw 200 and National Law Journal 250 firm, and has been named to the ''U.S. News & World Report'' and ''Best Lawyers'' Best Law Firm lists. The ...

, LLP in Columbus, Ohio in 2008, focusing on white collar defense, government investigations and regulatory enforcement. Crites was previously a managing partner of the "mid-size" Columbus law firm, Rich, Crites & Dittmer, where he specialized in "complex civil cases and defending manufacturers in product-liability claims," According to the

Columbus Dispatch ''The Columbus Dispatch'' is a daily newspaper based in Columbus, Ohio. Its first issue was published on July 1, 1871, and it has been the only mainstream daily newspaper in the city since ''The Columbus Citizen-Journal'' ceased publication in 1 ...

2008 election for Ohio Attorney General

Crites announced his candidacy for Ohio Attorney General on July 23, 2008, as a Republican running against Democrat

Richard Cordray Richard Adams Cordray (born May 3, 1959) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the COO of Federal Student Aid in the United States Department of Education. He served as the first director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFP ...

and Independent Robert M. Owens in a special election for attorney general that was held when the previous officeholder,

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

Marc Dann Marc Dann (born March 12, 1962) is an American former politician of the Democratic Party, who served as the Attorney General of Ohio from 2007 until his resignation on May 14, 2008. Law career and state Senate Dann earned a B.A. in 1984 from t ...

, who was embroiled in a sex scandal, resigned on May 14, 2008. Potential Republican candidates, including Montgomery,

Jim Petro James M. Petro (born October 25, 1948) is an American lawyer and politician of the Republican Party who served as the Attorney General of Ohio. Previously, Petro also served as Ohio State Auditor and he was a candidate for the Republican nominat ...

, DeWine,

Maureen O'Connor Maureen O'Connor (born August 7, 1951) is an American lawyer and judge serving as the chief justice of the Ohio Supreme Court. She was elected to the court in 2002, becoming chief justice in 2010. Prior to this, O'Connor served as an associate ...

, and

Rob Portman Robert Jones Portman (born December 19, 1955) is an American attorney and politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States Senate, United States senator from Ohio since 2011. A member of the Republican Party ...

declined to enter the race. According to the

, Cordray had a large financial advantage over his opponents with approximately 30 times as much campaign financing as Crites. Crites' campaign strategies included attempts to link Cordray with Dann—an association ''

The Columbus Dispatch ''The Columbus Dispatch'' is a daily newspaper based in Columbus, Ohio. Its first issue was published on July 1, 1871, and it has been the only mainstream daily newspaper in the city since ''The Columbus Citizen-Journal'' ceased publication in 19 ...

'' called into question—and promoting himself as having more years of prosecutorial experience. Cordray asserted that he managed the state's money safely despite the turbulence of the

financial crisis of 2007–2008 Finance is the study and discipline of money, currency and capital assets. It is related to, but not synonymous with economics, the study of production, distribution, and consumption of money, assets, goods and services (the discipline of fi ...

. He received 38% of the vote.http://www.wkyc.com/news/elections/results/20081104/race2052.htm

References

External links

Official campaign website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crites, Mike 1948 births American people of Pennsylvania Dutch descent Claude W. Pettit College of Law alumni Living people Naval War College alumni Ohio lawyers Ohio Northern University alumni Ohio Republicans People from Bluffton, Ohio People from Powell, Ohio Recipients of the Legion of Merit United States Attorneys for the Southern District of Ohio United States Naval Academy alumni Politicians from Lima, Ohio United States Navy officers