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Letters to the Editor

Shelley Pratt is best pick for probate judge

DEAR EDITOR: I am writing to express my support for Shelley Pratt for judge in the upcoming Trumbull County Probate Court election. In a time when accountability and public safety should be top priorities in our justice system, I believe Ms. Pratt represents the level of responsibility and fairness our community deserves. One of the key reasons for my support is concern over a recent case handled by her opponent, in which an individual who caused a fatal accident while texting and driving received what many in our community feel was a far too lenient sentence. As an avid motorcycle ...

Vote Summers for state central committee

DEAR EDITOR: I am proud to be writing today in support of Thomas Summers for Democratic State Central Committee for Senate District 32. Summers is the young endorsed Democratic candidate for the post. As we approach the May 5 primary, I ask that you join me in voting to retain him. Summers got involved in politics while still in high school because in 2016, he recognized that our democracy and our Constitution were under threat, and he mobilized and stayed involved. He was an intern at the local Democratic headquarters while he studied political science at Youngstown State ...

Don’t let Ramaswamy shut down Ohio’s universities

DEAR EDITOR: The idea of closing universities across Ohio isn’t bold reform; it’s intellectual disarmament. When Vivek Ramaswamy proposes dismantling public institutions like Youngstown State University, it’s framed as an efficiency or a necessary correction. But beneath that language is something more troubling: a willingness to strip communities of the very infrastructure that makes civic life, economic mobility and human creativity possible. In places like Youngstown, a university is not a burden; it is a lifeline. It trains nurses who staff local hospitals, teachers who ...

Support judge’s efforts on abortion law language

DEAR EDITOR: I’m writing this letter in regard to domestic court Judge David Engler’s efforts to change the current Ohio law where parents don’t need to have knowledge of whether their minor child is getting an abortion. It’s absurd that language was used to sneak this by us voters. I’m glad I support Judge Engler’s taking on the entire state to get that law changed. The way it exists now, a pedophile can take your minor daughter into an abortion clinic and have no questions asked. TERRY ERWIN Niles

Experience isn’t all that matters for local judges

DEAR EDITOR: On Oct. 17, 2024, the world shattered for the family of Nick Stoian. He was tragically killed in a car accident. What followed throughout the next 14 months was constant salt in the wound for his family. The judge charged with deciding the fate of all involved chose extreme leniency. The fact that only a one-year license suspension was imposed is a slap in the face to the entire Stoian family. Further, the community service requirements discussed with the widow prior to sentencing were reduced after the fact. Now Judge Thomas Campbell’s campaign is smearing Shelley ...

Don’t be fooled, because it really can happen here

DEAR EDITOR: “It can’t happen here,” many people say. I would agree with you, but then, we’d both be wrong. A recent movie was released, “Judgment at Nuremberg,” which tells the story of the post WWII trials uncovering the German leadership’s role in supporting Nazi dictatorship and the crimes against humanity as carried out by law during WWII. At the end of the film, there is a quote: “If you think the next time it happens, we’re going to recognize it because they’re wearing scary uniforms ... you’re out of your damn mind.” It emphasizes that future ...