Wood County Common Pleas Court Judge Alan Mayberry has announced he is seeking reelection to the Wood
County Common Pleas Court where he has served since 2003. He filed for re-election on Friday.
Elected to four terms as prosecuting attorney, his 23 years of service in that office is the longest in
the history of Wood County.
Mayberry also previously served as a court referee and on Bowling Green City Council.
"I am honored to have the opportunity to serve the community where I grew up, and I look forward to
continuing in that service on the Common Pleas Court bench," he said.
Mayberry is a graduate of Bowling Green High School and Bowling Green State University. While at BGSU he
served as a justice on the Student Court and was on the dean’s list, graduating in just three years. He
graduated from the University of Toledo School of Law.
He began his career as a prosecutor while still in law school, serving as an intern-prosecutor in the
Bowling Green Municipal Court. "I knew right then that my interest was in criminal law," he
said. In 1980 he was hired as an assistant prosecuting attorney, and was quickly promoted to chief
assistant by newly-elected Prosecutor Betty D. Montgomery.
"I look back fondly on those eight years as chief assistant – I was in trial on a regular basis –
getting great experience. It was during this time that Judge Bachman gave me an opportunity to serve on
the bench as a referee in the Bowling Green Municipal Court. That opportunity ignited an interest in
someday becoming a judge."
In 1988 when Montgomery ran for the Ohio Senate, Mayberry ran for prosecuting attorney and won. He was
re-elected three more times before running unopposed for judge in 2002 and again in 2008.
As prosecutor, he took an active role in prevention as well as prosecution of crime. He started the Drug
Abuse Prevention calendar contest and the Gang Task Force. His effort to prevent youth violence led to
the creation of the award-winning Students Seeking Safe Solutions (4-S) program where students were
trained to mediate their disputes in our schools. The Youth Violence Prevention program (now Cycle)
targets truancy and minor juvenile offenses, and the Wood County Youth Olympics focuses on competition
without conflict.
Mayberry was chosen as Ohio Prosecutor of the Year in 2000 and received many other awards for his service
to the community. "I am perhaps most proud of being selected by the National District Attorneys
Association to serve on the faculty at the National Advocacy Center in South Carolina. Being entrusted
to help shape our nation’s prosecutors is a great honor," he said.
Mayberry has also written law books used by police and prosecutors across Ohio.
He is involved in the state Judges Association, serving on the Criminal Law and Procedure and the
Judicial Administration and Reform committees. He also attends conferences and training through the
National Judicial College and the Ohio Judicial Conference. Mayberry is currently the presiding judge
and just concluded two years as the administrative judge.
"We have strived to provide a forum to those who need the services of the Court while keeping our
ever growing docket current," Mayberry said. "The initiation of court mediation services since
I joined the Common Pleas bench has greatly assisted us in accomplishing those goals."
Mayberry has been married for 32 years. He and wife Lisa, who is a teacher, have three boys and they are
active in hockey, baseball, and soccer. They live in rural BG where they have resided for 30 years.