Three Democrats compete for Struthers judgeship during primary
By Sarah Lehr
STRUTHERS
Three Democrats are competing in the May 2 primary for a six-year term as Struthers Municipal Court judge.
The winner will face Republican candidate Damian DeGenova in the November general election.
Incumbent Judge James R. Lanzo, 72, is retiring. He would not have been able to run for re-election due to Ohio’s age limits for judges.
The judge’s son, James E. Lanzo, 45, is one contender for the position. He faces Dominic Leone III, 39, the Struthers law director, and Jamie Dunn, 67, a visiting Struthers judge.
The younger Lanzo said he shares his father’s judicial philosophy, but would differ in his “style and demeanor” from the bench.
“I don’t think it would be fair to tell them they could expect the same thing because I’m very different from my dad,” Lanzo said. “I’m very proud of everything he’s done, but ... I’m a more relaxed person.”
Lanzo serves as solicitor for the village of Lowellville and prosecutor for New Middletown Mayor’s Court. He maintains a private practice as well.
Lanzo promises to modernize the court and make it more accessible to the public.
The court handles civil, criminal and traffic cases for Struthers, Poland, Lowellville, New Middletown and Springfield Township.
Both Lanzo and Leone favor implementing video arraignments for the sake of efficiency and convenience.
Leone, however, advocates resuming night-court sessions and streamlining the filing process for eviction cases. He believes the court should update its website and allow people, especially those facing license suspensions, to more easily access information.
As the elected law director, Leone prosecutes cases in Struthers, represents the city in legal matters and assists city council in drafting legislation.
Leone, who also maintains a private law practice, said he’s seen firsthand how the opiate epidemic has impacted the city. He advocates a more novel approach to the problem and pledges to create specialized dockets.
“I think, if anyone, I might be the change candidate,” Leone said.
Specialized dockets, such as drug courts, license courts or veterans courts, use treatment and court supervision to address underlying issues, including trauma, addiction and mental illness.
Lanzo plans to follow the example of Girard Municipal Court and seek licensing through the Ohio Supreme Court for a drug-treatment docket. The licensing process would take about a year, Leone said.
Lanzo said he doesn’t necessarily oppose specialized dockets, but added there are other ways to address addiction, such as ordering treatment in lieu of incarceration.
Dunn, however, dismissed the viability of such plans.
“To me, that’s being totally unrealistic,” Dunn said of specialized dockets. “To make those lily promises as a political puffery type of thing – I didn’t do that, and I’m not going to do that.”
Dunn, who could serve only one term due to his age, said he is uniquely qualified because of his “mature temperament” and the breadth of his experience.
He cites 30 years of experience as an attorney in private practice, 13 years as a visiting Struthers judge and 35 years as a public high-school teacher.
“I was a very strong disciplinarian,” Dunn said of his teaching career in Poland and Canfield. “Part of my responsibility as an educator is to make them [students] accountable. If that’s their paper, they’re accountable. They were provided all of the groundwork. I took the time and effort to read those papers so therefore, I expected them to turn in a perfect paper.”
Dunn said he prioritizes maintaining decorum and punctuality in the courtroom.
Early in-person voting began April 4 and continues until May 1.