Pavan Parikh Appointed Hamilton County Clerk of Courts in Ohio, Succeeds Aftab Pureval Who is Elected Cincinnati Mayor
- Currently working in-house with the Federal Home Loan Bank of Cincinnati, he is also a judge advocate in the Army Reserve.
Indian American attorney Pavan Parikh has been appointed Hamilton County Clerk of Courts. He replaces Cincinnati Mayor-elect Aftab Pureval, a position he held since 2016. The 39-year-old Indian-Tibetan American defeated longtime city council member and two-time mayor David Mann in his first run for Cincinnati, Ohio’s highest office, becoming the first Asian American elected mayor.
Last year, Parikh ran for judge of the Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas Probate Division in Ohio. He lost to Ralph E. Winkler in the Nov. 3, 2020, general election.
Parikh, who currently works in-house with the Federal Home Loan Bank of Cincinnati, is also a judge advocate in the Army Reserve. According to the Cincinnati Enquirer, Parikh will serve “at least until the end of 2022,” and is up for re-election in November. Whoever wins that election will fill out the remainder of Pureval’s term, which ends Jan. 5, 2025.
Duties of the clerk of court’s office include maintaining all the court records, overseeing courthouse security for municipal court and processing traffic tickets and passport applications.
“I look forward to getting to work at the courthouse starting probably tomorrow,” Parikh said in a statement. “ I’ll be at the courthouse tomorrow, and I look forward to getting to go out in this election,” he said. “We need to keep this seat. We need to make sure all of our judges get elected.”
Born and raised in Cincinnati, Parikh is also the former Chief Legal Counsel for the Minority Caucus at the Ohio Senate. He is an adjunct professor at the University of Cincinnati College of Law and Xavier University and he is heavily involved with local bar associations.
A graduate of Princeton High School, Xavier University, and the Saint Louis University School of Law, Parikh began his legal career in Cincinnati working at the courthouse under Judge Nadine Allen, says his website. “His passion for public service also led him to work as a political staffer on issues of voting rights and the judiciary before being appointed the Chief Legal Counsel for the Ohio Senate Minority Caucus.” At the statehouse, Parikh was responsible for monitoring and negotiating legislation on issues from criminal justice reform to voting rights, constitutional law, and ethics.
As a judge advocate in the U.S. Army Reserve, Parikh has been repeatedly selected from special missions including two stretches in Korea advising the command of U.S. Forces Korea and he was selected to serve in an additional duty as a Special Victims Counsel where he represents victims of sexual assault.
He is married to Dr. Shwetha Manoharan, a physician specializing in Obstetrics & Gynecology. They live in Columbia-Tusculum with their son, Rohan, and their dog, Baloo.