2 races for Canton municipal judge; contest for Massillon clerk of court
Voters in the Canton Municipal Court district will select a pair of judges, while those in the Massillon Municipal Court district decide who will be clerk of court.
Eary voting in this general election has already begun and will culminate on Nov. 7 at the polls.
Although the three races are nonpartisan — you won't find a political party next to their names on the ballot — each of the six candidates got to this point by winning their respective Democratic and Republican primaries on May 2.
They are:
Democrat Kristen Donohue Guardado vs. Republican Dennis Barr for a Canton municipal judge seat, which begins on Jan. 1.
Incumbent Republican Curt Werren vs. Democrat Earle Wise Jr. for a Canton municipal judge seat, which begins a day later.
Incumbent Democrat Johnnie Maier vs. Republican John Paquelet for the Massillon clerk of court position.
All three positions are six-year terms. A judge's annual salary will be $151,378 in 2024. The clerk of court salary will be $128,671 next year.
Municipal courts handle criminal and traffic cases and civil actions, such as evictions and small claims cases.
Canton's district covers Canton, North Canton and Louisville, along with Lake, Plain, Nimishillen, Osnaburg, Canton, Pike and Sandy townships, the villages of Hartville, East Canton, Meyers Lake, East Sparta, Waynesburg, Magnolia and the Uniontown police district.
Massillon's court area is Massillon and Canal Fulton, as well as Bethlehem, Jackson, Lawrence, Perry, Sugar Creek and Tuscarawas townships, and the villages of Beach City, Brewster, Hills and Dales, Navarre and Wilmot.
A new judge will emerge from this race: Kristen Donohue Guardado vs. Dennis Barr
Guardado or Barr will become a first-time judge, replacing John Poulos, who did not seek reelection.
The 52-year-old Guardado is senior trial counsel at the Canton city prosecutor's office. She's worked there in multiple roles for the past three decades.
She said a judge's post is a logical next step.
"I do like helping the downtrodden," Guardado said. "We are probably too hard on people who aren't really criminals and not hard enough on those who are."
Also a private practice attorney, Guardado's city duties have included supervising prosecutors, interns and trials, overseeing domestic violence cases and preparing search warrants.
"Kind of the Swiss army knife of the office," she said.
Guardado said she worked with city Treasurer Kim Perez on a program to resolve unpaid income taxes from non-filers before the cases clog up the court docket.
"I send them a personal letter," Guardado explained.
In it, she states a warrant has been issued. But rather than going straight to court, she urges the taxpayer to contact her to fix the problem — because often non-filing is an oversight.
"In 2022, we were able to dismiss 220 cases that way," Guardado said.
Guardado's last general election bid for judge failed; she was toppled by Curt Werren in 2015. But she's no stranger to winning elections, either. She was elected to the Plain Local Schools Board of Education five times in a row, from 2001 to 2017.
Her opponent this time, Barr, is chief of the criminal division in Stark County Prosecutor Kyle Stone's office.
The 64-year-old Barr has worked there, under four different prosecutors, for the past 34 years. He's generally handled many of the most serious criminal cases.
"I don't like to lose," he said.
And it hasn't happened much.
He's been involved with 118 homicide crimes. Of the 75 which proceeded to trial, Barr said he won convictions in 70. If you've read about, listened on the radio or watched coverage on TV of a high-profile Stark County case, odds are Barr prosecuted it.
That's included trials of Bobby Cutts Jr., James Mammone, Jason McDermitt and Jeremy Morlock, to name a few.
"I know the criminal side of the law very well," Barr said, adding he's confident he also knows enough to handle the type of civil cases that land in municipal court.
Barr said he possesses three qualities a good judge needs: Be respectful of everyone; be firm but fair; and be impartial.
"The most important thing you have is your integrity," he said.
Barr said he donated $10,000 of his own money to his campaign to make it easier to ask others for support.
Guardado said Barr actually worked some on her 2015 campaign, when he was a Democrat.
Barr indeed was a Democrat under former Democratic prosecutors. However, he said he's always held conservative views. He switched to the GOP after Stone, a Republican, was elected in 2020.
Barr added the judge's race is nonpartisan, anyway.
"And the law is nonpartisan," he said.
Incumbent Judge Curt Werren vs. former judge Earle Wise Jr.
The 56-year-old Curt Werren seeks a second full term.
He previously was appointed common pleas judge, but lost the seat in an ensuing election. In 2015, he was appointed municipal judge, after Judge Stephen Belden resigned.
Werren has proceeded to win two elections ― he toppled Guardado in the 2015 general election for the remainder of the unexpired term, then he ran unopposed in 2017.
"I believe I've earned my position ... through my abilities and my passion," he said.
As presiding and administrative judge, Werren said he manages a docket of 2,800 cases each year.
He's proud of founding the Recovery Court docket, a collaborative substance abuse program with Stark County Mental Health & Addiction Recovery and CommQuest.
"In municipal court, you have the ability to be more flexible ... a little more leeway (than in common pleas, for example)," Werren said. "You can work with people."
Earl Wise Jr., 63, is chief counsel for the Massillon law department ― a job he took after he lost his seat on the 5th District Court of Appeals in the 2022 general election.
His father, Earle Wise Sr., was a longtime local attorney and former appeals court judge, too.
"I know how municipal court works," Wise said.
His career included stints as a common pleas bailiff, deputy director of the Stark County Board of Elections, assistant Stark County prosecutor, North Canton city administrator, private practice attorney and Carroll County public defender attorney.
All that before he was elected to the appeals court.
"All of my experience ... can make me a very good muni court judge," Wise said.
He said a judge must be respectful and polite to everyone, while at the same time exerting the court's authority.
"And you have to be prepared to make the call quickly sometimes," Wise explained, noting that's one of the key differences from work at an appeals court.
Veteran Johnnie Maier vs. the newcomer John Paquelet for Massillon clerk
The Massillon clerk is legal guardian and keeper of records for everything in municipal court.
It's a job Johnnie Maier has held since winning office in 1999. The former state legislator seeks his fifth straight term. He said his record shows he's done the job well.
"I want to continue serving alongside judges (Edward) Elum and (Joel) Fichter as a key part of the team ...," said the 72-year-old Maier.
He touted technological and customer service improvements; his office's early use of the Ohio eWarrant system; his leadership roles in state and Northeast Ohio clerk associations; and a 2010 honor that named him Ohio clerk of the year.
"I come from a family with deep law enforcement roots," Maier said.
His dad was a Massillon police officer and Dalton police chief. His brother, Chuck, was a longtime Massillon police sergeant. His brother, George, is Stark County sheriff.
"People deserve a choice," said Maier's opponent, John Paquelet, son of Dr. Charles Paquelet, a longtime local orthopaedic surgeon.
Paquelet, 54, said he's proud of work he and his colleagues on the Massillon Board of Education have done. Most notably, he pointed to $80 million in district improvements during the past five years ― without asking taxpayers for more money.
Paquelet said he oversees a staff of about 25 people in his job as an environmental specialist with the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency. Heading the clerk's office, he said, should be about providing customer service.
"Always try to put myself in their shoes," he said.
Reach Tim at 330-580-8333 or tim.botos@cantonrep.com.On X: @tbotosREP
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Voters to select two Canton Municipal judges, Massillon clerk of court
