CIA, soldier, pastor, clerk: Barberton judge candidates tout different backgrounds
A CIA agent. A U.S. Marine. A pastor. A clerk.
The four candidates running for Barberton Municipal Court judge in the Nov. 7 election have varied backgrounds and experience.
Two have run for office many times, while the other two have never run before.
Judge Todd McKenney, who has been a Barberton judge since 2017, is being challenged by Cletus Pulliam, a Summit County Common Pleas magistrate.
Judge Diana Stevenson, a long-time Barberton clerk who was appointed to an open judge seat in July, is facing Steve Elliott, the chief magistrate in Summit County Probate Court. They are competing for an unexpired term that runs through December 2025.
The judicial races are non-partisan, though the candidates are affiliated with political parties.
The Barberton court district includes Barberton, Green, New Franklin, Norton, Copley, Coventry and Clinton.
Steve Elliott v. Diana Stevenson
Stevenson, who had served as Barberton clerk for 12 years, was appointed in June to replace Judge Jill Flagg Lanzinger after she moved to the 9th District Court of Appeals.
Before becoming clerk, Stevenson, 56, ran unsuccessfully for Barberton law director once and Barberton judge twice. Her prior experience includes serving as a Summit County Probate Court magistrate, an assistant Summit County prosecutor and a judicial attorney for Ohio Supreme Court Justice Deborah Cook.
“My unique combination of experience, qualifications, and deep community ties make me the better candidate,” Stevenson said.
Elliott, 50, has been a magistrate in probate court since 2018 and was named the chief magistrate in January. Before this, he was an attorney in private practice for 15 years, worked for the Ohio Adult Parole Authority and was a CIA officer.
Elliott said his experience as an attorney, magistrate and in law enforcement make him the best candidate.
“I think one judge can make a difference and I bring a different background and experience,” he said.
Stevenson said the biggest challenge in the Barberton court is people with mental-health problems who self-medicate with drugs. She said they are often homeless, without resources to help them, and run afoul of the law.
Stevenson said she’d like to continue with a mental health court she presides over to “help those whose mental illness keep them from following a law-abiding life and threatening the safety of our community.”
Elliott agreed that mental health is a pivotal issue and one that he’s seen firsthand in the New Day Court in Summit County Probate Court, which seeks to help people with serious mental illnesses who are hospitalized for potentially being a danger to themselves or others. He would seek to address this issue with Barberton’s mental health court.
“Without intervention, recidivism rises and will continue to rise,” Elliott said. “I want to be part of the solution.”
If elected, Diana Stevenson would serve on the bench in Summit County at the same time as her husband, Scot, who was elected last year to the 9th District Court of Appeals.
More: 'D' for defeated? New party designations on ballot had impact in judge races, critics say
“We never aspired to be judges at the same time, but we both set ourselves on paths to make that a possibility,” Stevenson said.
Todd McKenney v. Cletus Pulliam
McKenney, 60, was appointed and then elected Barberton judge in 2017 and is currently the administrative and presiding judge.
Prior to this, McKenney was briefly a judge in Summit County Common Pleas and Summit County Probate Court. He also served in the Ohio House of Representatives and on New Franklin City Council and was the mercy and justice pastor for the Chapel in Akron and Green.
“With a decade of proven judicial experience, I am far better prepared for the challenges that come with this important position,” he said.
Pulliam, 52, served in the U.S. Marine Corps in Desert Shield and Desert Storm from 1989 to 1993. He was a judicial assistant and law clerk in Akron Municipal Court and an assistant prosecutor in the Cuyahoga and Summit County prosecutor’s offices. He then served as a judicial attorney and magistrate in Summit County Common Pleas Court.
“The values of sacrifice, hard work, faith, and service were ingrained in me by my parents,” Pulliam said. “Now is the time to serve my community as judge.”
McKenney said the biggest challenge facing the Barberton court is drug and alcohol abuse and the crimes that accompany it, including domestic violence, theft and driving while impaired. He presides over drug court, which attempts to steer people suffering from addiction onto the right path.
“Seeing changed lives and hearing people say, ‘You saved my life,’ is the greatest reward we can receive,” McKenney said.
During the pandemic, McKenney said the court managed to keep its doors open and cases current. He said he also continued officiating weddings at a time when few were doing this. Since 2020, he has officiated more than 550 weddings.
Pulliam said the two concerns he hears about most from people in the court district are fairness and safety.
If elected, Pulliam said he would start a procedure in which criminal and driving-under-the-influence defendants are screened to determine their underlying issues, such as substance abuse and mental health problems. This is a process used in Summit County Common Pleas Court.
“It is the court’s responsibility to identify and treat these existing conditions once a person is charged,” Pulliam said.
If re-elected, McKenney said he would expand a veteran’s program through the probation department in which veterans receive special attention. He also would continue plans for a program with the two other municipal courts in Summit County and the Humane Society to address pet ownership issues, such as dog-at-large cases. He also would continue an effort to provide people with help getting their driving privileges restored.
Pulliam, who is Black, is the only of the four Barberton judge candidates who is a minority and would help improve diversity on the Summit County bench. Only two judges in the county are Black.
More: Diversity lacking on bench in Summit County, most of Ohio
“As a magistrate, I witness the impact of diversity on all participants in a court proceeding,” Pulliam said. “All individuals want a just and fair system, free of bias, and an opportunity to be heard. That will be my guiding principle as your Barberton Municipal Court Judge.”
Stephanie Warsmith can be reached at swarsmith@thebeaconjournal.com, 330-996-3705 and on Twitter: @swarsmithabj.
About the Barberton judge candidates
ELLIOTT/STEVENSON
Name: Steve Elliott.
Personal: 50. Lives in Green. Married with three children.
Title: Chief magistrate in Summit County Probate Court.
Political party: Democrat.
How long an attorney: Since November 2003.
Campaign slogan: Does not have one.
Name: Diana Stevenson
Personal: 56. Married with two children.
Title: Barberton Municipal Court judge, appointed in July.
Political party: Republican.
How long an attorney: November 1992.
Campaign slogan: “Justice Done with Stevenson.”
MCKENNEY/PULLIAM:
Name: Todd McKenney.
Personal: 60. Lives in New Franklin. Married with two children.
Title: Barberton Municipal Court judge, appointed and then elected in 2017.
Political party: Republican.
How long an attorney: November 1989.
Campaign slogan: “Keep Judge McKenney.”
Name: Cletus Pulliam
Personal: 52. Lives in Copley. Married with four children.
Title: Magistrate in Summit County Common Pleas Court.
Political party: Democrat.
How long an attorney: May 2014.
Campaign slogan: “Now is the time for change.”
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Mckenney, Pulliam, Stevenson and Elliott compete for Barberton judge
