Former Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray announced today, November 15, 2017, that he plans to step down as head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau by the end of this month. Could that be a step to his becoming a Democratic candidate for Governor of Ohio?  Cordray made no such announcement today, but rumors about him running have long been swirling about.

Of significance to court watchers is the fact that Justice Bill O’Neill, an announced-but-not-officially-official candidate for Governor has said in the past that if Cordray entered the race, he, O’Neill, would not run. Now that he has announced a platform, does O’Neill still feel the same way? And if he changes his mind, where does that leave things with the Supreme Court of Ohio?  Judge Mark L. Pietrykowski of the Sixth District Court of Appeals has been assigned to sit for Justice O’Neill in all of the cases set for oral argument November 21, 2017, and Judge Cynthia Westcott Rice of the Eleventh District Court of Appeals has been assigned to all the cases set for oral argument on December 6, 2017.  No appellate sub has been assigned yet for the cases set on December 7, 2017.