Tom Heydinger (August 24, 1940 – July 10, 2012) was a former judge and Democratic member of the

Ohio House of Representatives The Ohio House of Representatives is the lower house of the Ohio General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio; the other house of the bicameral legislature being the Ohio Senate. The House of Representatives first met in ...

who represented the 58th District briefly in 2008.

Life and career

A native of

Plymouth, Ohio Plymouth is a village in Huron and Richland counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. The population was 1,707 at the 2020 census. The Richland County portion of Plymouth is part of the Mansfield Metropolitan Statistical Area, while the Huron Count ...

, Heydinger served in the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

, where he flew helicopters for the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

. He also worked as a lawyer in the

Judge Advocate General's Corps The Judge Advocate General's Corps (JAG or JAG Corps) is the military justice branch or specialty of the United States Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marine Corps, and Navy. Officers serving in the JAG Corps are typically called judge advocates ...

. A former judge, Heydinger served on the bench in

Crawford County, Ohio Crawford County is a county located in the north central portion of the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 42,025. Its county seat and largest city is Bucyrus. The county was created in 1820 and later organized in 1 ...

, and as an assistant to the

Ohio Attorney General The Ohio attorney general is the chief legal officer of the state of Ohio in the United States. The office is filled by general election, held every four years. The Ohio attorney general is Republican Dave Yost. History The office of the att ...

. He also worked as a prosecutor for

Huron County, Ohio Huron County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 58,565. Its county seat is Norwalk. The county was created in 1809 and later organized in 1815. Huron County is included in the Norwal ...

. In 1975, Heydinger was appointed by

Ohio Governor The governor of Ohio is the head of government of Ohio and the commander-in-chief of the U.S. state's Ohio National Guard, military forces. The officeholder has a duty to enforce state laws, the power to either approve or veto bill (proposed law ...

John Gilligan to the Huron County Common Pleas Court, Probate Division, a controversial decision at the time because of the issue of whether he had actually practiced law the requisite number of years to qualify for judicial office. However, a writ of

quo warranto In the English-American common law, ''quo warranto'' (Medieval Latin for "by what warrant?") is a prerogative writ issued by a court which orders someone to show what authority they have for exercising some right, power, or franchise they clai ...

(pursuant to the

Ohio Revised Code The ''Ohio Revised Code'' (ORC) contains all current statutes of the Ohio General Assembly of a permanent and general nature, consolidated into provisions, titles, chapters and sections. However, the only official publication of the enactments o ...

) was never filed, and the

Ohio Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the State of Ohio is the highest court in the U.S. state of Ohio, with final authority over interpretations of Ohio law and the Ohio Constitution. The court has seven members, a chief justice and six associate justices, ...

never ruled on the matter. Heydinger served as probate judge from 1975 until 2003.

Ohio House of Representatives

In early 2008, freshman representative

Matt Barrett Matt Barrett is a former Democratic member of the Ohio House of Representatives, who represented the 58th District from 2007 to 2008. Life and career Barrett is a graduate of Embry Riddle University and of the Cleveland State University Colleg ...

ran into ethics trouble after mistakenly showing

pornographic Pornography (colloquially called porn or porno) is sexually suggestive material, such as a picture, video, text, or audio, intended for sexual arousal. Made for consumption by adults, pornographic depictions have evolved from cave paintings ...

content to high school students during a presentation. He subsequently resigned, leaving House Democrats to appoint a replacement to the seat. While numerous candidates applied for the position, Heydinger was chosen. He was sworn into office on May 21, 2008. Initially, Heydinger sought to retain the seat in the 2008 election. However, Heydinger dropped out of the race, citing mounting health problems and influences from within the

Ohio Democratic Party The Ohio Democratic Party (ODP) is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Ohio. Former state representative Kathleen Clyde has been the party's chairwoman since June 2025. Statewide, the Democrats currently are viewed as th ...

. The seat was won by Republican Terry Boose.

References

Democratic Party members of the Ohio House of Representatives 21st-century members of the Ohio General Assembly 1940 births 2012 deaths People from Plymouth, Ohio {{Ohio-OHRepresentative-stub