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Hume stands out among five candidates for Girard judge
TweetPicking one candidate out of five can be daunting in some election races, but not necessarily in the five-way race for judge of Girard Municipal Court.
The announced retirement of Judge Michael Bernard signaled an end to a 30-year family dynasty in the court started by his father, Anthony. And it opened the race to five hopefuls.
They are:
Jeffrey Adler, 47, law degree from Ohio Northern University Claude W. Pettite College of Law, who has been an assistant Trumbull County prosecutor, Hubbard law director and private practice lawyer.
Harry DePietro, who has been a lawyer for about 20 years and who says he has experience ranging from mayor’s court to the Ohio Supreme Court.
Mark Finamore, 54, law degree from the University of Akron School of Law, who has served as magistrate in Girard Municipal Court, as legal counsel for more than 40 townships in Northeast Ohio and has a private practice.
Rebecca Gerson, 43, law degree from Case Wester Reserve University School of Law, who is a former Mahoning County assistant prosecutor, has a private law practice and has served as acting judge in Girard Municipal Court.
Marty Hume, 54. law degree from Ohio State University College of Law, who is a Mahoning County assistant prosecutor and a lawyer in private practice.
Frankly, we were disappointed that while several candidates suggested that the court might be able to be self-sufficient — that is balance its expenses against its court income without dipping into Girard’s general fund — no candidate had the facts and figures to explain how that might be accomplished. Had one done so, that candidate would have won by default.
Still, by process of elimination, we were able to reduce this to a two-person race for purposes of deciding The Vindicator endorsement.
DePietro did not fill out a questionnaire or attend an endorsement interview, which immediately reduces the field to four.
Adler has adequate experience to justify his candidacy, but we have been unimpressed with his performance as Hubbard law director at a time when the city could have benefitted from a more aggressive response to what has been going on there.
His failure or refusal to assert himself as law director in recent months during the dispute between the mayor and police chief is of particular concern. The mayor has essentially taken the position that it is none of the public’s business as to why the mayor suspended the chief and then reached a deal that allows the chief to take months of sick leave before retiring.
When thousands of dollars worth of sick leave are being paid to a chief and the only people who know the nature of his illness are the mayor and the chief, the law director has a responsibility to show more curiosity than has Adler.
Gerson suggests that her experience filling in for Bernard as judge the past two years uniquely qualifies her as a candidate, but a few cumulative weeks or even months sitting on the bench does not provide a particularly impressive level of experience. And two other candidates have more comprehensive legal experience.
Then there were two
By that calculus we were left to decide between Finamore and Hume.
There is little question that Finamore is most familiar with the operation of the court, having served as magistrate for 23 years. He has conducted traffic court and hearings on civil suits one day week. A magistrate’s decisions, he notes, must be ratified by the judge, and have been in all but a few rare instances. And he has provided testimonials from people who have appeared before him over the years attesting to his fairness and his respect for the law and the people who come before him.
Still, when asked about budgetary matters of the court, Finamore stumbled answering questions on which he should have been able to excel.
Not that the last candidate in the lineup delivered the fiscal goods either. Hume said he’ll have to look at the court staff, its workload and its budget and its fees, which he characterized as unusually high .
Our decision could not be made on which candidate demonstrated the clearest vision for the Girard Municipal Court, because all were flawed. Our choice is based on the strongest combination of academic background and public and private legal experience. That was Hume, who has extensive experience as an assistant prosecutor and a lawyer in private practice at the common pleas and appeals court levels.
He also said he will bring his experience in running a successful private practice to the court and will implement electronic filing and other uses of technology.
The Vindicator endorses Marty Hume on the May 3 Democratic primary ballot. No Republican has filed for the November ballot.
Comments
Just don't vote for whoever it was Jerry Springer endorsed.
@1970 - Couldn't have said it better myself. The Vindy editorial board must never witnessed Hume in his full glory sending bad guys to jail for their corn stalks being too tall in Sebring Court where he is the prosecutor.
And, it looks to me like he's the only one showing a party endorsement, which makes me suspect an immediate bias on his part.
Photoman, I am not sure that you understand that this is a Democratic Primary and there are no Republicans or Independents running. All of the candidates are Democrats. Also, author50, Marty Hume is the Boardman Prosecutor. Boardman Township has a population of over 42,000 which is similar to the Girard Municipal Court Jurisdiction.
You should both get your facts straight before posting online comments. Marty Hume is the best qualified candidate by way of experience, integrity and temperament. The Vindicator was right to endorse his election.
Great to see that the Vindicator has endorsed the right candidate for Girard Municipal Court. Marty Hume has the experience and education needed for this position,
Now the negative comments from the other candidates start. At least do some research before posting. Your statements are full of errors.
I would also like to say that Marty Hume getting the endorsements from Vindicator/Springer is wonderful. Much nicer than getting no endorsements at all. Thats gotta hurt. Ouch!!
"When thousands of dollars worth of sick leave are being paid to a chief and the only people who know the nature of his illness are the mayor and the chief, the law director has a responsibility to show more curiosity than has Adler"
So what the he!! is the Vindy asking of Adler.
Do they want him to violate the Chief's LEGAL RIGHTS to his medical privacy. How can the vindy ask Mr Adler to violate this man's rights to privacy and then turn around and defend the City over the multi-million dollar lawsuit that would be sure to follow.My god this is a rag paper if ever there was one. This is not even worth the outhouse cleaning detail.What the editorial writer just wrote in this article is PROOF that the person writing this article is in NO WAY QUALIFIED to be endorsing anyone for this position.What they are in fact advocating is that Adler BREAK THE LAW so that the vindy can sell papers. You people are clueless.
pam1975,
I will give you a first-hand account. I was cited into Girard court 4or 5 years ago on a traffic citation. I pleaded "no contest" and was fined $5 plus costs. Not bad until I found out court costs were $97! I can only imagine what the costs are now. As I paid the clerk, I wanted to ask her what her employee contribution percentage was for her health care premium. At those rates, I can't understand how the court can't operate within its budget.
The only candidate that is new and refreshing is Rebecca Gerson; political hacks and underachievers need not apply. The other four candidates couldn't pass the entrance exams into Case Western Reserve. Endorsements from the Vindicator or Unions only compliment an outsider with actual experience and no political obligations; someday (hopefully) the entire Mahoning Valley will 'grow up' and compete with the rest of the world instead of constantly putting underachievers into office.
Another comment with no fact and a bunch of fiction.
Ronald, I am not sure what your understanding is of the word underachiever. Mine is not someone who:
*Graduated from The Ohio State Law School
*Won the Best Brief Award in Moot Court
*Has been listed in Best Lawyers in America
*Has been recognized by his peers for the past 4 years as an Ohio Superlawyer
*Has been a Past President of the Mahoning-Trumbull Counties Academy of Trial Lawyers
*Has served as an assistant Prosecuting Attorney
*Is presently the prosecutor in Boardman, Ohio
These are just some of the qualifications that Marty Hume would bring to the Girard Courts.
If that is not an OVERachiever, I am not sure what is!
To all of you who have not done research on candidates I suggest you do. I believe you will see that Marty Hume is the most qualitfied for Judge. He is well qualified and his experience speaks for itself. Marty Hume for judge all the way!!
What is the deal with the Hubbard Law director, Adler, covering for the Chief? Do we really want somebody on the bench in Girard that won't tell the truth about his own town.
Wow, I guess the Vindicator IS the worst paper around...Thought reporters were actually suppose to do research before writing a story...???? Plain and simple the reason Adler had nothing to do with the police chief issue is because the Mayor had already issued the disciplinary action prior to consulting with anybody! And he screwed it up so bad (maybe because he wants Adler to look bad because he is working for Finamore: because he was promised the Magistrates position if Finamore wins) (investigate that). Wouldn't that be twiddle Dee and twiddle dumb for the Girard courts! Check with the Mayor of Warren because that is who Hubbard's Mayor called after he issued the discipline wanting advice on how to fix it. Every employee has a right to due process whether the police chief was in the right or wrong, the Mayor screwed it up and would like to blame it on Adler but never consulted with Adler and when ask what happen that's why he gives the answer “no comment”. The Mayor can't defend what he did!!!! Adler by far is the best candidate hands down by way of experience, integrity and temperament. Dennis Watkins has acknowledged Adler as being the best candidate and who would know better, he deals with all of the candidates every day. The Bar Association, a group of all their peers endorsed Adler. Yeah take a look at the qualifications and experience there is no comparison to Adler. As for new and refreshing.... sounds more like an ATTRACTION than a qualification to me. Underachievers don't hold 3 jobs at once and get recognized by their peers for excellent service. GO ADLER!
Police chiefs records are all public record go read them for yourself, oh sorry the Mayor won't release them.....
The Warren Tribune had similar things to say about Adler…..Must by a conspiracy.
“Adler brings experience as a Trumbull County assistant prosecutor and Hubbard law director. But we are quite troubled by his legal opinion that a secret Trumbull County commissioners meeting last year satisfied an exception to Ohio open meetings law. The law allows an except for information gathering. Adler said the commissioners were gathering details about Howland's and Bazetta's demolition regulations. Since those are public records, we see no need to engage in a secret meeting to gather the information. The real detriment was that the meeting angered one of Trumbull County's most important corporate citizens and could negatively affect the company's future here and whether other companies decide to locate here.”
Getting an endorsement from Springer is a plus??? Now you know why this area, State and Country are in the shape they are in.
I think Adler covered up the retirement thing because the game boards being made were for Adlers fund raiser, which the boards were nice by the way. We are being told they were made for a fun raiser for the school, which we know is true as well but after seeing them I can't help but think that the boards were behind the cover up. Anybody know anything about that?
YES pac, I - unlike the majority of the bloggers actually KNOW what I am talking about.
Regardless of the ignorant comments from Jerry Springer fans, and Mr. Baldine referring to the other canidates as "under achievers", which still makes me laugh, I have knowledge of this topic.
As for the cornhole boards, they were NOT, I REPEAT NOT, used for the fund raiser Atty Adler, (who remains the most qualified candidate for the position of Girard Municipal Judge), had several months ago. The boards which were taken from the old High School Gym floor were in fact sold as a fund raiser and there was not a single board made by former police chief at the event.
hume's resume should include being part of and prosecutor for the biggest speed traps anywhere. he is excellent at REVENUE GENERATION, where fairness justice and the law all take a back seat. boardman prosecutor isnt something to brag about either .describing county courts as disfunctional is being kind
Assmatter is a poor excuse of a law director, he gets his power from the the family he married into, which is not much only in Hubbard Assmatter covers for a local contractor that was attempting to tear down a structure and truck toppled onto to another building. Assmatter is in no way, shape or form a Judge to hear and rule on anything. Just watch the news in Hubbard for weeks to come to see how Assmatter has performed.
Martin all the way
These people in the Girard Court race need to have their heads examined. Or maybe we should have our heads examined if with this information we vote for anyone but Finnamore.
FINNAMORE'S been there 20 years as magistrate. He's the logical person to be judge. Everyone says he has a near perfect record. He's a good man and is honest as the day is long.
Heres why the rest of these bums are running against him and you be the judge.
Gerson is a YOUNGSTOWN MAHONING county female lawyer who wants to be the first woman Judge in the Girard Court.
Alder according to the Vindy & Trib is an incompetent Hubbard prosecutor.
Depetro is a cutter to split finnamores Italian votes.
Hume is another YOUNGSTOWN/MAHONING county lawyer who thinks he can walk into Trumbull county and be a judge. He was just endorsed by the King of filth "Jerry Springer. What would possess a candidate to seek or accept an endorsement like this? YOU BE THE JUDGE!