Tom Puffenberger

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Tom Puffenberger

Democratic Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 8, 2022

Education

High school

Ottawa Hills High School, 2000

Bachelor's

Denison University, 2004

Law

University of Toledo College of Law, 2007

Personal

Birthplace

Toledo, Ohio

Profession

Attorney

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Personal Facebook

Personal Instagram

Personal LinkedIn

Tom Puffenberger (Democratic Party) ran for election for judge of the Ohio Sixth District Court of Appeals. He lost in the general election on November 8, 2022.

Puffenberger completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Tom Puffenberger was born in Toledo, Ohio. Puffenberger graduated from Ottawa Hills High School in 2000. He earned a bachelor's degree in history from Denison University in 2004 and a J.D. from the University of Toledo College of Law in 2007. Puffenberger's career experience includes working as an attorney.

Puffenberger has been affiliated with the following organizations:

• Toledo Bar Association
• Lucas County Bar Association
• Old Newsboys
• Pat Miller Foundation (Grandparent Project)
• Toledo Police Athletic League
• Ottawa Hills Joint Recreation Committee

Elections

2022

See also: Ohio intermediate appellate court elections, 2022

General election

General election for Ohio Sixth District Court of Appeals

Charles Sulek defeated Tom Puffenberger in the general election for Ohio Sixth District Court of Appeals on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Charles Sulek (R)	52.3	152,365
		Tom Puffenberger (D)	47.7	138,738

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 291,103
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Mark Pietrykowski (D)

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Ohio Sixth District Court of Appeals

Incumbent Mark Pietrykowski advanced from the Democratic primary for Ohio Sixth District Court of Appeals on May 3, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Mark Pietrykowski	100.0	31,521

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 31,521
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Ohio Sixth District Court of Appeals

Charles Sulek advanced from the Republican primary for Ohio Sixth District Court of Appeals on May 3, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Charles Sulek	100.0	52,341

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 52,341
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Endorsements

To view Puffenberger's endorsements in the 2022 election, please click here.

2019

See also: City elections in Toledo, Ohio (2019)

General election

General election for Toledo Municipal Court

Incumbent Joshua Lanzinger defeated Tom Puffenberger in the general election for Toledo Municipal Court on November 5, 2019.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Joshua Lanzinger (Nonpartisan)	50.6	15,832
		Tom Puffenberger (Nonpartisan)	49.4	15,458

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 31,290
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Campaign themes

2022

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Tom Puffenberger completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Puffenberger's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I am a life-long resident of Northwest Ohio. I currently live in Toledo with my wife of 15 years and our four children. After graduating from the University of Toledo, College of Law in 2007, my legal experience includes working in private practice, as a public defender, a prosecutor, a staff attorney at the 6th District Court of Appeals, and as a senior attorney in the City of Toledo's law department. I have experience in all areas of the law including criminal and civil jury trial experience. My experience on all sides of the law will allow me to look at cases from all points of view and with no preconceived notions of how the case should resolve. I am committed to decide cases based on the law regardless of my personal opinions or beliefs.

I am very active in my community, serving on several boards and committees including the Pat Miller foundation board (funds senior centers and works with the grandparent project), the Old Newsboys Scholarship Committee, the Toledo Police Athletic League Board, and the Ottawa Hills Joint Recreation Board.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Experience matters. I have experience in all areas of the law, including civil and criminal jury trial experience.
• I am committed to deciding cases based on the law, regardless of my personal beliefs or opinions. There is no place for politics in the judiciary.
• I am committed to the area in which I would serve. I am extremely active in the community and have a vested interest in keeping Northwest Ohio safe, and keeping it a wonderful place to raise a family.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Because I'm a judicial candidate, I will preface this answer by stating that I will follow the law, no matter what my personal beliefs are or what I am passionate about.

I am extremely passionate about voting rights. I love our system of Democracy, and I believe that everyone should have a say in who their elected officials are. Our system only works if people are researching candidates and issues and are making educated choices while filling out their ballots. There should be as few restrictions as possible to limit someone's right to vote.

I am also passionate about criminal justice reform, specifically in our current system of bail. As a criminal attorney, I see too many cases with similar crimes, fact patterns and criminal histories, yet some people are able to be released pending trial because they can afford to pay the bail. I believe this can create unjust results in our courts.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Honesty, integrity, having a strong work ethic, having the knowledge and experience required to perform the job, having a love for the community you serve, and having the courage and fortitude to do what is right and proper under the law, no matter what personal beliefs you may have.

As a judge, it would be imperative to simply follow the law, regardless of any personal beliefs, outside influences, or political pressures.

Why are you running for this particular court seat?

I am running to be a judge because I love public service. I like to be active in my community in order to help those in need. Not only do I serve on several boards that help the youth and seniors of Northwest Ohio, I also coach youth sports and volunteer as much as possible at my kids' school. I believe that my legal background, knowledge of the law, and love for public service makes this the perfect position to serve the community.

I'm running for this particular seat because when I worked as a Staff Attorney at the court, I realized that it is where I would like to end my career. I truly enjoyed researching the law and drafting opinions for the court. I enjoyed interacting with the judges and other staff attorneys as we would debate the law as it related to certain cases. I learned something new every day. I believe that my diverse experience and my passion for the law make me a perfect fit for the Court of Appeals.

Would you be interested in serving on a higher court in the future? If so, which court appeals to you?

I am not. Serving on the Court of Appeals is a dream job for me, and I would be committed to serving in that capacity for the remainder of my career.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

2019

Tom Puffenberger did not complete Ballotpedia's 2019 Candidate Connection survey.

See also

2022 Elections

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Candidate

Ohio Sixth District Court of Appeals

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Footnotes

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