Tom Heydinger (August 24, 1940 – July 10, 2012) was a former judge and Democratic member of the

Ohio House of Representatives The Ohio House of Representatives is the lower house of the Ohio General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio; the other house of the bicameral legislature being the Ohio Senate. The House of Representatives first met in ...

who represented the 58th District briefly in 2008.

Life and career

A native of

Plymouth, Ohio Plymouth is a village in Huron and Richland counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. The population was 1,857 at the 2010 census. The Richland County portion of Plymouth is part of the Mansfield Metropolitan Statistical Area, while the Huron County ...

, Heydinger served in the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

, where he flew helicopters for the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

. He also worked as a lawyer in the

Judge Advocate General's Corps The Judge Advocate General's Corps, also known as JAG or JAG Corps, is the military justice branch or specialty of the United States Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marine Corps and Navy. Officers serving in the JAG Corps are typically called judg ...

. A former judge, Heydinger served on the bench in

Crawford County, Ohio Crawford County is a county located in the north central portion of the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 42,025. Its county seat is Bucyrus. The county was created in 1820 and later organized in 1836. It was named ...

, and as an assistant to the

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 ...

. He also worked as a prosecutor for

Huron County, Ohio Huron County is a county located in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 58,565. Its county seat is Norwalk. The county was created in 1809 and later organized in 1815. Huron County is included in the Norwalk, OH ...

. In 1975, Heydinger was appointed by Ohio Governor John Gilligan to the Huron County Common Pleas Court, Probate Division, a controversial decision at the time because of the issue of whether he had actually practiced law the requisite number of years to qualify for judicial office. However, a writ of

quo warranto In law, especially English and American common law, ''quo warranto'' (Medieval Latin for "by what warrant?") is a prerogative writ requiring the person to whom it is directed to show what authority they have for exercising some right, power, or ...

(pursuant to the

Ohio Revised Code The ''Ohio Revised Code'' contains all current statutes of the Ohio General Assembly of a permanent and general nature, consolidated into provisions, titles, chapters and sections. However, the only official publication of the enactments of the G ...

) was never filed, and the

Ohio Supreme Court The Ohio Supreme Court, Officially known as The Supreme Court of the State of Ohio is the highest court in the U.S. state of Ohio, with final authority over interpretations of Ohio law and the Ohio Constitution. The court has seven members, a ...

never ruled on the matter. Heydinger served as probate judge from 1975 until 2003.

Ohio House of Representatives

In early 2008, freshman representative Matt Barrett ran into ethics trouble after mistakenly showing

pornographic Pornography (often shortened to porn or porno) is the portrayal of Human sexual activity, sexual subject matter for the exclusive purpose of sexual arousal. Primarily intended for adults,

content to high school students during a presentation. He subsequently resigned, leaving House Democrats to appoint a replacement to the seat. While numerous candidates applied for the position, Heydinger was chosen. He was sworn into office on May 21, 2008. Initially, Heydinger sought to retain the seat in the 2008 election. However, Heydinger dropped out of the race, citing mounting health problems and influences from within the

Ohio Democratic Party The Ohio Democratic Party (ODP) is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Ohio. Summit County Council President Elizabeth Walters has been the party's chairwoman since January 2021. U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown is the top Oh ...

. The seat was won by Republican

Terry Boose Terry Boose (born February 23, 1956) is a former Republican member of the Ohio House of Representatives, representing the 57th District from 2009 to 2016. Background Boose earned a bachelor's degree in business management from Bowling Green State ...

References

Democratic Party members of the Ohio House of Representatives 1940 births 2012 deaths People from Plymouth, Ohio 21st-century American legislators {{Ohio-OHRepresentative-stub