Pocono News Section

Amesbury, Gartley and Hughes Win Judge Nominations

Amesbury, Gartley and Hughes Win Judge Nominations - Tuesday, May 19, 2009 at 11:30PM EST

WILKES-BARRE, LUZERNE COUNTY- William Amesbury has won the nomination on both the Democratic and Republican tickets. The other seat will be split on the November ballot between Tina Polachek Gartley (D) and Richard Hughes (R).
This was the race on everyone's mind in Luzerne County. There were two seats on the Court of Common Pleas up for grabs, but voters found 17 names on the ballot for the two Luzerne County Judge's seats.

One of those is Michael Conahan’s seat. He had retired last year and was replaced temporarily by Judge Musto, who was seeking the seat permanently but was defeated. Also up for grabs was President Judge Chester Muroski’s seat. He is retiring later this year.

Not appearing on this ballot are the seats once occupied by Judge Mark Ciavarella and Judge Ann Lokuta. Lokuta’s seat is still tangled up in appeals and Ciavarella’s resignation from the bench came too late to appear on this year’s ballot.

Christine Dunn was among the voters who sifted through the sea of candidates' names. "There were a lot of people running and I didn't really know who I was supposed to vote for," she said.

For others, it was an easier decision. Bill Jumper said, "I pretty much had decided before I got here, so. It's just a matter of finding the names."