Sunbury District Judge announces candidacy for county judge seat
Dec. 10—SUNBURY — Sunbury District Judge Mike Toomey will seek the soon-to-be-open Northumberland County Judge seat.
Toomey made the announcement Saturday morning. He looks to replace outgoing President Judge Charles Saylor, who is retiring. Saylor said he intends to keep working as a senior judge.
"After learning of the news that President Judge Charles Saylor decided to retire after a tremendous and dedicated career on the bench, I began to ponder the idea of running to fill his seat," he said.
"My decision to seek a seat on the bench is based on my belief that I have the experience and qualifications to best serve the people as their judge. I feel I am the most qualified candidate based on my life's experience as a prosecutor, veteran and magisterial district judge."
The only other candidate who has said they will run is Northumberland County Commissioner Kym Best.
Toomey, who resides in Rockefeller Township, served as a Northumberland County assistant district attorney for more than 20 years under three district attorneys, he said.
"During that time I prosecuted thousands of cases ranging from misdemeanors to felonies as well as serving as co-counsel with former District Attorney Tony Rosini in two murder trials," he said.
Toomey said he will work hard for the public.
"I have fought hard to stop drug dealers from peddling their poison on our streets and I am proud to say that I never lost a trial against a drug dealer," he said.
In 2005, Toomey was chosen to work as one of the original team members on the county's new drug court treatment program.
Toomey was elected to the Sunbury district judge seat in 2017 at which time he left the district attorney's office.
"I was fortunate with the support of the residents to be elected," he said.
Toomey said his experience as a judge is being fair to all who have appeared before him.
"As District Judge I started a successful community service program for youthful offenders and I have coordinated with county agencies to help people with mental health, addiction and truancy issues. I recently accepted a position as a judge on the new truancy court to help troubled kids," he said.
"I am a proud veteran and have served our country in the Army beginning in November of 1983. I retired after 21 years of service in the regular Army and Army Reserves. I fought for our country in two wars: Operation Desert Storm in 1991, and again when I was stationed in Baghdad during Operation Iraqi Freedom. I was a master sergeant while in iraq and later became company first sergeant."
Toomey also practiced civil law as a private attorney and represented people with family law issues.
"I helped clients through divorces, custody, support, and landlord and tenant issues. I also assisted local veterans with their veterans benefits cases before the local V.A., the Board of Veterans Appeals, and the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims and helped them obtain the benefits they deserved."
Toomey graduated from Marywood University in his hometown Scranton before working his way through law school and obtaining a law degree from Widener University's School of Law in 1996.
Toomey said his experience would make him a proper fit for the county bench seat.
"My vast experience as a prosecutor, attorney, district judge and a non-commissioned officer in the military has prepared me to make the right rulings and formulate fair decisions in all court cases," he said.
"I am a veteran of justice who has the experience to make just decisions. I have worked hard as a judge to administer justice. I protected the rights of victims in the courtroom to make sure they received a fair result and I have fought in two wars to protect people against tyranny. I believe my legal, military and life experience make me the best candidate for county judge. I would greatly value the opportunity to serve our citizens as judge to continue to work for the betterment of our community."
