COLUMBUS – Today Governor John R. Kasich announced the appointment of John C.
Thatcher of Centerburg to serve as a judge on the Mount Vernon Municipal
Court. Thatcher will assume office on July 21, 2014, and must run in November 2015 to
retain the seat for the remainder of the unexpired term, which ends December 31, 2017.
Thatcher is replacing Judge Paul E. Spurgeon, who retired.
Thatcher received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and History from
Otterbein University in 1986, and received his juris doctor from Capital University Law
School in 1989. Thatcher is currently the Knox County prosecuting attorney.
Thatcher served as an assistant prosecutor for Knox County from 1992 – 2000 and has
been an attorney for several firms, including Critchfield, Critchfield & Johnston, Ltd. in
Mount Vernon. He is secretary of the Ohio Prosecuting Attorneys Association and
serves on the Governor’s Advisory Council for Aging, Attorney General Mike DeWine’s
Elder Abuse Commission and the Ohio Justice Alliance for Community Corrections.
Thatcher’s community involvement includes the Mount Vernon Rotary Club, Rotary
Foundation Board, Centerburg Lions Club and Boy Scouts of America, where he is vice
president, Muskingum Valley Council Executive Committee.
