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Only 1 judicial candidate not recommended by Mahoning Bar
YOUNGSTOWN
Of the nine judicial candidates on the ballot, the Mahoning County Bar Association is not recommending only one — Susan Maruca — for probate court judge.
Maruca, who also was not recommended in the Democratic primary, said Tuesday that she “wasn’t surprised” with the outcome of the bar’s general-election vote.
The association also didn’t recommend her when she unsuccessfully ran for the same seat in the Democratic primary six years ago.
Among the four sitting judges to receive the bar’s “highly recommended” label is Probate Court Judge Robert N. Rusu, Maruca’s general-election opponent.
Judge Rusu is a longtime member of the bar’s board of trustees, but said he didn’t participate in the counting of the ballots.
“I’m very pleased with the results,” he said. “Who better to judge you than your peers?”
Gov. John Kasich appointed Rusu to replace Mark Belinky, the incumbent who resigned before the primary and was convicted May 8, two days after the primary, of tampering with records. Judge Rusu started serving July 8.
Also getting the highly recommended label are three other sitting judges, who are unopposed in the general election, and didn’t have opposition in the primary. They are: Common Pleas Court Judges R. Scott Krichbaum and John M. Durkin, and Domestic Relations Court Judge Beth A. Smith.
In the primary, Judge Smith was only recommended by the bar while the other two were highly recommended.
Attempts Tuesday by The Vindicator to reach J. Michael Thompson, the bar association’s president, were unsuccessful.
Two sitting judges — Cheryl A. Waite of the 7th District Court of Appeals and Maureen A. Sweeney of common pleas court — received ratings of recommended. Both are unopposed.
In the only other contested judicial race on the Mahoning County ballot — to replace the retiring Judge Joseph J. Vukovich of the 7th District Court of Appeals — the bar gave recommended labels to both candidates: Judge Carol A. Robb of Columbiana County Municipal Court and Anthony Donofrio, Youngstown’s deputy law director.