VOTE411 Voter Guide

I have served our community as a lawyer for 37 years. In private practice, I represented actual people, as opposed to corporate clients, in both civil and criminal matters. Understanding their experiences in the justice system gave me the framework for the work I do on the bench. Jurors, lawyers, parties, victims, law enforcement officers and others who find themselves in our court are treated with respect and courtesy. My staff is a true reflection of the community we serve. As an Akron resident, I understand the significant concerns surrounding safety in our neighborhoods, because they are also my concerns. Community safety, in both the short and long term, is at the heart of much of my work as a judge. In addition, throughout my career, my community service on local nonprofit boards has broadened my awareness of how to enhance services for those who need them most.

While I have worked hard to meet many challenges during my time on the bench, much work remains. Staggering rates of addiction, mental illness and gun violence continue to plague our communities and strain our criminal justice system. My training and experience make me the best candidate to balance that overload with the significant number of civil cases on my docket. Each civil matter is consequential to the parties involved and deserves the court's focus. That is why in 2023, I revived Settlement Week, after a 20 year hiatus, to address the backlog of civil cases in the court. Each year, Settlement Week brings litigants and experienced mediators together for efficient, fair dispute resolution. Our Settlement Week efforts were recognized by Chief Justice Sharon L. Kennedy, Good Morning Cleveland, Court News Now and Akron Legal News. An average 44% of cases have come to resolution during Settlement Weeks, saving the parties tremendous time and resources in resolving their disputes.

In Summit County Common Pleas Court, the primary challenge is the sheer volume of cases. Each judge's docket is currently twice as large as when I first became a judge in January, 2009. Those docket numbers translate to stress on the system from top to bottom. Budget, staff, and all court related resources are stretched thin. My judicial and administrative experience are invaluable tools to manage these impacts while, at the same time, giving each case the attention it deserves. I have made progress through creative collaboration with local stakeholders and innovative ways of working. I use technology to expand access to the courtroom and improve efficiency and courthouse safety. I am always on the lookout for grant funding opportunities to meet budget gaps. Summit County has an abundance of community partners willing to work together to meet the needs of our community and I work hard to strengthen those ties.

Without a doubt, the greatest obstacle to justice throughout our country is the corrosive rhetoric surrounding the role of the judicial branch of government, the judiciary in general, and the rule of law. This "judge bashing" from the highest levels of the other two branches has filtered into the national psyche to such extent that judges routinely receive threats and have been victims of violence, some of it brutally directed to their loved ones. The belief that no person is above the law, and that the laws apply to all of us, may have been imperfect, but it has been an aspirational tenet of America throughout my lifetime. The daily degradation of respect for judges and the rule of law will be monumental to reverse, and the effects on our nation and its citizens will be written into the history books.