Five eye two Cambria County Court of Common Pleas seats

Apr. 29—EBENSBURG, Pa. — Five Cambria County attorneys are competing to be the next two Cambria County Court of Common Pleas judges.

Michael Carbonara, Forest Fordham, Tonilyn Chippie Kargo, Timothy Sloan and Brett Smith have all entered the race for a chance to fill the seats that will be left vacant by President Judge Norman A. Krumenacker III and Senior Judge Patrick T. Kiniry.

—Carbonara, of Richland Township, began his legal career in 1999 as a clerk for longtime Cambria County Judge Thomas Swope II and later spent 18 years as an assistant district attorney in both Cambria and Somerset counties.

Carbonara, 49, said that he has seen the importance of county judges.

"As someone who's practiced in the district attorney's office for all these years, I've seen how important it is for the judges and the criminal justice system and the court system," he said. "I know how it impacts families and individuals, and as someone who served as an assistant DA day in and day out, I see how important my decisions were when I served as an assistant. I saw how important my decisions were on a daily basis and how they affected the community, and so with two judges' positions being available at Cambria County, I recognize that that's going to be a huge impact going forward in the next 10 or 15 years, who will be sitting on the bench."

—Fordham, of Richland Township, was hired as an assistant district attorney in 2002. In addition to his duties in the district attorney's office, Fordham serves as a special deputy attorney general and also maintains a general law practice in Richland Township.

Fordham, 56, said that if he were to become a judge, he would like to uphold the standards set by Kiniry and Krumenacker.

"I think the first thing is that I want to make sure that I continue to serve," he said. "Our bench is a really good match. I think that we're very lucky to have the judges that we have and I think by losing Judge Krumenacker and Judge Kiniry, it is going to create a vacuum up there because they handle a lot of cases, and especially a lot of the criminal cases.

"I would hope that I could continue to maintain the standards that that they've set, in being ... a fair judge granting equal access to justice and being fair to the litigants and making sure everybody gets their day in court, and uphold those standards."

—Kargo, of Portage, started her career as a juvenile court master in Cambria County and then as a law clerk in Dauphin County before practicing civil law predominantly across the eastern part of Pennsylvania.

She now works as a part-time assistant district attorney in Cambria County.

Kargo, 47, said that she entered the race to continue serving the residents of Cambria County.

"I want to ensure that people in Cambria County are treated fairly, taking every case into consideration, listening to the facts, reading the pleadings, and briefs and following the law when it comes time to make a decision," she said.

—Sloan, of Cambria Township, has practiced in Cambria County for 35 years and has operated Sloan Law Office PC in Ebensburg for the past 25 years, and he serves as a guardian ad litem for Cambria County working to represent the interest of children in the court system.

He said that he recognized that, at 60 years old, he would not have many more opportunities to run for judge.

"I think that I have good patience. I think I have a good temperament, and just the experience of being around this business and this practice for so long," he said. "I've spent a lot of time in court and understand difficult decisions that come before judges. I feel like I'm capable of making those as well as anyone else."

—Smith, of Sidman, has practiced law for 14 years.

He spent eight years as an assistant public defender and has handled municipal law, estate and will matters, and criminal law.

Smith, 40, said he is running because he "grew up in a family where serving our community was a big part of how I was raised."

"In my private law practice and previous experience as a public defender, I learned what an important and powerful role the judge plays," he said. "It's not just about enforcing the law. It's about making sure everyone gets a fair shake. One of the judges that is retiring oversaw the Orphans' Court. My experience as a probate attorney would lend itself very well to that position."

Terms for Court of Common Pleas judges are 10 years long, after which judges face a retention vote. Judges can stay in office until the age of 75, after which they can obtain senior status.

All candidates are registered Republicans and cross-filed to seek both parties' nominations in the primary election.