Former State Senator Joe Schiavoni has announced he will run for Mahoning County Court Judge in 2020. 

Schiavoni filed his paperwork on Tuesday and will run for the position currently being held by Judge J.P. Morgan.

This is a non-partisan race, so there is no primary and will go straight to the general election next November.

Schiavoni, who is an attorney representing injured workers, calls this job very special.

"When somebody goes to court, they are scared, their life is turning upside down or taking a turn for the worse, and to be a judge that is honest and helpful and truly give somebody an opportunity to get back on track, I think that's important," said Schiavoni.

He added that the best judges he's seen or worked for have compassion, but they're very strong, and they make sure that when someone screws up, there has to be a penalty, but you want to help them get back on track because everyone makes mistakes.

"When I do stuff, I don't mess around, I take things very seriously and work very hard," said Schiavoni. "So, I do it because I love to help people, and at the end of the day, that is what I'll be doing as a judge hopefully next November."

Schiavoni ran for Ohio governor back in 2018, but did not get enough votes throughout the state and conceded to Richard Cordray, who later went on to lose the race against now-Governor Mike DeWine. 

He represented Mahoning and Columbiana Counties in the Ohio Senate from 2009-2018.