ELYRIA, Ohio — Challenger Tony Cillo beat incumbent JD Tomlinson by more than 14% of the vote Tuesday to be elected Lorain County Prosecutor. Tomlinson’s campaign believes the election outcome was likely influenced by a pending criminal case.
“You never know when you’re going into an election so it wasn’t like I expected anything,” Tony Cillo said Thursday.
When News 5 talked to voters before Nov. 5, many confessed the prosecutor race wasn’t high on their priority list.
But it had gained unusual notoriety for the criminal case playing out simultaneously.
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On Tuesday, voters selected Cillo over Tomlinson by a more than 20,000 vote margin.
“It was a much bigger vote count than I thought I would ever have. But I’m very pleased and I thank people,” Cillo said.
The election came as the current county prosecutor faced another battle in court. Tomlinson and his chief of staff, James Burge, are both charged with tampering with evidence and intimidating a witness. Tomlinson faces an additional bribery charge.
All of the third-degree felonies were filed on Oct. 1.
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The case is related to a settlement with a woman who dated Tomlinson while working in his office. The ex-girlfriend filed an employment complaint when she left the job in the summer of 2023, accusing him of treating her unfairly and using physical force.
The criminal charges allege Tomlinson and Burge tried to get the woman to backtrack on her statements. Court documents said Tomlinson also offered her money to go out to dinner with him.
Both men have insisted on their innocence.
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The defense attorney for both defendants filed a response on behalf of his clients, questioning the motivation behind the criminal investigation.
RELATED: Court filings dispute criminal charges filed against Lorain County prosecutor
Tomlinson was unavailable for a post-election interview on Thursday. His campaign reiterated claims that a politically motivated criminal case swayed voter opinion. They were concerns Tomlinson shared with News 5 before the election.
“Not only do I have my political rivals that are the ones in charge of investigating me, it happens 30 days before an election,” he said in late October.
Investigators with the Lorain County Sheriff’s Office have denied any political motivation. Cillo, who currently works at the Sheriff’s Office, also said he had no involvement in the criminal case.
“I wouldn’t have been able to pull this off as a plan. And I think everyone’s been careful to have independent judges and things to make the decision on whether things go forward,” he said.
Cillo previously worked as an assistant county prosecutor, leaving shortly after Tomlinson’s election. He told News 5 he was eager to return to his newly elected role, pledging to be tougher on criminals than his predecessor. He also said he plans to invest in staff development and work to restore the office’s public image, which he believes has been damaged by the previous administration.
“You do the right thing from here on out and you’ll start to get people’s trust back,” he said.
Tomlinson is due back in court for a preliminary hearing on Friday, Nov. 8 at 10 a.m. His defense previously said it plans to present the judge with evidence that would lead to the case’s dismissal.
