AP: State lawmaker Grendell won't seek re-election

The Associated Press
4/14/03 12:55 AM

CHARDON, Ohio (AP) -- State Rep. Tim Grendell has decided against seeking
election to a third two-year term, and instead plans to run for a pending
Geauga County Common Pleas Court judgeship vacancy.

With the announcement, the 49-year-old Republican abandoned his oft-stated
goal of succeeding Larry Householder as House speaker.

Grendell, an OFCC PAC 2002 endorsee, said gaining the leadership position seemed unlikely. "If the
price of being speaker is selling my soul and my principles, that's not a
price I'm willing to pay," he said.

Grendell's district includes Geauga County and several Cleveland suburbs in
eastern Cuyahoga County.

His wife, Diane, served four terms in the House before being pushed out by
term limits. She now serves on the 11th Ohio District Court of Appeals
covering Ashtabula, Geauga, Lake, Portage and Trumbull counties.