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The race for the 10th judicial seat in Luzerne County will become clearer after this week: Two potential candidates plan to announce their intentions regarding the race.Attorney Tom Marsilio will formally announce his candidacy for Luzerne County judge Wednesday at 4 p.m. in the rotunda of the Luzerne County Courthouse, he confirmed.
Marsilio ran against David Lupas for District Attorney in 1999 and was swamped by money and false promises. I think his downfall was the campaign slogan, "An Officer and a Gentleman." It's hard to take someone seriously when they use the title of a soppy Richard Gere movie in a political campaign.
Luzerne County District Attorney David Lupas, who is expected to run as well, will announce his intentions 4:30 p.m. Thursday at the Wilkes-Barre Ramada Inn. Lupas would not say if he’ll run for re-election as district attorney or seek a judgeship.“I’ll make that clear Thursday,” he said.
So Lupas is playing coy with the press. Like anyone who pays attention doesn't know he's running for Judge. I hope he's better prepared for this announcement than he is for some of his trials.
12 comments:
hmmm, Lupas runs his mouth off about Hugo but stays mum about himself, weird...
i'd be scared as hell to have him as a judge, my word is: "eeP!"
It's hard to take Marsillio serious just for being Marsillio. Lupas would be worse.
Tom O'Connor is a decent guy and, so far, the only name out there that wouldn't make me wince to see in black robes.
But Luzerne County has a tradition of electing the worst of the candidates for judge.
who the hell is connonalan?
I don't know much about this Marsilio, but from what I've read about him he sounds a lot better than the other choice.
Get the real scoop on Lupas here.
BILL FITZPATRICK Please for the love of christ learn how to type or don't comment. We (other users) spend an hour trying to decipher what the hell it is you are trying to say.
You've put up a number of great stories the last few days. I was out of town for a bit and then terribly busy with the lawsuit. I will have to wait until tomorrow to go through everything you've put up, but I am looking forward to it.
peace - t.g.
'es referring to Conahan -- the former President Judge and a lawyer who, to the best of anyone's recollection, never represented ANYone in ANY court ANYwhere before those Luzerne County voters decided that he would make a great judge.
Bill, I'll handle this: Anonymous, since your too ashamed to use your name or even a monicor, I'll tell you that Bill has credibility on this site and others you could only dream to have. Despite being a conservative.
the former President Judge and a lawyer who, to the best of anyone's recollection, never represented ANYone in ANY court ANYwhere before those Luzerne County voters decided that he would make a great judge.
Conahan won a bitter contest against Atty. Joseph Musto, the younger brother of Senator Ray Musto. He was a District Magistrate from Hazleton. (Conahan) The election was held a few years after Ray Musto ascended to the State Senate seat held by Martin L. Murray. The entire campaign centered on three things, 1. Nepotism (It was charged Ray used his Democratic connections to get his brother in the race)2. Control of the local Democratic party, it was at a time when the Dems were reeling from the Trini-Phillips GOP takeover at the Courthouse and 3. Non representation of the city of Hazleton under the dome. Hazleton went solidly for Conahan, Greater Pittston went for Musto and the rest was up for grabs. Surprisingly Conahan won the nomination on both tickets. He has had a dubious career as a Judge since then.
One has to wonder if Tom Marsilio gets elected judge, will he cry like a baby and quit when things get a little difficult just like he did when he was on the school board? As for Lupas, he at least seems to have his act together.
Luzerne County made the mistake in 1999. Maybe we can learn for our mistake this time:
There are certain things one expects from a district attorney.
Independence. Experience. Passion.
In the race between Republican Tom Marsilio and Democrat David Lupas,
we
believe Marsilio has more of all three.
Marsilio's membership in Luzerne County's minority party will separate
him from the old Democratic guard in the courthouse and ensure the
autonomy of the prosecutor's office.
His 18 years as a government and private attorney include stints as an
assistant district attorney and deputy state attorney general. His
extensive experience as a defense attorney gives him an ability to
anticipate the other side's strategy when he prosecutes a case.
In the courtroom, the former Marine and U.S. Naval academy graduate has
a reputation as an organized and fierce advocate who won seven homicide
trials. He has brought the same passion to his uphill campaign,
managing to mount a serious challenge although his opponent is expected
to outspend him 3-1.
In contrast, we detect little passion for the job from Lupas, whose
campaign has contained little of substance.
We are troubled that Lupas touted a "conviction rate" of more than 95
percent by including guilty pleas in his tally when he does not deny
charges that his record in cases that went to trial is a
not-very-impressive 40 wins and 17 losses.
We are troubled that Lupas did not have the political courage to disown
the support of a party official with a repugnant racist nickname.
We are even more troubled that Lupas' campaign has accepted $293,000 in
loans from his politically connected father--more than half of what he
is expected to spend on the primary and general elections. There is
nothing illegal or unethical about these loans. But there is something
unseemly about Lupas' proposal to hold fund-raisers after the election
to repay them. The idea of a sitting district attorney using the power
and prestige of his office to raise money to repay old campaign debts
could present numerous conflicts of interest.
But for all the weaknesses of the Lupas campaign, the decisive factor
in
our endorsement is Marsilio's record.
We believe his experience, background and independence make him the
right choice for Luzerne County District Attorney.
Wilkes-Barre Times-Leader, October 31, 1999
I want to know is he a good lawyer?? bottom line...
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