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MAHONING COUNTY Probate Court
Video
Two candidates are running for Mahoning County probate judge in the Nov. 4 election. An asterisk denotes the incumbent:
MARK BELINKY*
Age: 56.
Home: 4032 Windsor Road, Boardman.
Education: Law degree from the University of Pittsburgh; bachelor of arts, summa cum laude, Ohio University.
Employment: Mahoning County probate court judge since December 2007; lawyer for 28 years.
Family: Wife, Cynthia O’Neill Belinky; children, Todd, Rachel, Daniel and Sarah.
Priority: Attentiveness to the needs of society’s most vulnerable people who must be protected by the court; reduction of the time and expense of the probate process.
SCOTT HUNTER
Age: 45.
Home: 113 Fairview Ave., Canfield.
Education: Law degree from the University of Cincinnati; bachelor of science in business administration from Youngstown State University; graduated Canfield High School.
Employment: Judge, Mahoning County Area Courts, 1999-present; managing partner, Hunter-Steven Land Title Agency.
Family: Daughters, Ashley, 20; Emily, 16; and Katie, 15. Mother, Jeanette Gourley Hunter.
Priority: Making probate court more accessible with expanded hours and services and simplification of court forms, rules and filings.
Common Pleas Judgeship
Two candidates are running for this Mahoning County Common Pleas Court judge seat in the court’s general division. An asterisk denotes the incumbent.
David Gerchak
Age: 41.
Home: 4258 Staatz Drive, Austintown.
Education: Law degree from Thomas M. Cooley Law School, 1997; bachelor’s degree from Youngstown State University, 1992; Austintown Fitch High School, 1985.
Employment: Lawyer in private practice.
Family: Wife, Karen; children, Andrew and Abigail.
Priority: Taking control of the court docket to ensure deadlines are met and speedy trials are granted.
Maureen A. Sweeney*
Age: 45.
Home: 7576 Locust Lane, Poland.
Education: Doctorate of law from the University of Akron, 1993; bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from YSU, 1985; Canfield High School, 1981.
Employment: Mahoning County Common Pleas judge since July 2004; formerly in private law practice, former Poland Village solicitor.
Family: Husband, three stepchildren, and an adopted 1-year-old daughter.
Priority: Initiating electronic document filing in the court; expanding the felony mental health court she initiated; continuing the work of the criminal justice working group in which she has participated.