SUNBURY - Two state judicial candidates visited Sunbury Saturday afternoon as part of a five-county tour through the Susquehanna Valley.
Supreme Court candidate Judy Olson and Superior Court candidate Emil Giordano, both Republicans, spent slightly more than an hour meeting Northumberland County residents and speaking about issues at the Hotel Edison.
Both candidates urged the approximately three dozen attendees to vote in November's election. Olson said casting a vote for Supreme Court justices is particularly important because three seats are open on this board, which ultimately decides how state laws are interpreted.
"You can have the best elected representatives in the General Assembly ... and with the stroke of the pen a judge can undo it," she said. "That's why this election is so important."
Wants to make an impact
Olson, a judge on the Superior Court circuit, said she hoped to go from "Judge Judy" to "Justice Judy" so she could make an impact on issues statewide. She cited her experience and character as the reason to vote for her.
"I've spent 25 years as a lawyer," said Olson, who has also served as a judge since 2008. "I know what it's like to advocate."
During her time as a Superior Court judge, Olson said she's tried thousands of cases of all types, including criminal, civil and juvenile. The range of experience gives her the ability to look at all sides of an issue and make a fair ruling, she said.
"Every case that comes before me I take so seriously," she said. "Every case is so critical.
"These are real people you are impacting," she said.
Olson said that while justices on both the state and federal levels have recently made many critical decisions, she did not have any specific issues she wanted to address. If elected, she will focus on interpreting the law rather than creating it.
Interpret, not rewrite
Giordano concurred that he wanted to interpret the law rather than rewrite it.
"I've never wanted to change the law," he said. "That's up to the legislature."
Giordano also has an extensive legal background, one that has put him in nearly every seat in the courtroom. He has served as an assistant district attorney, a public defender, a private practice lawyer, a civil trial attorney and the Administrative Judge of the Orphans' Court Division in Northampton County, which primarily deals with custody cases.
"The most difficult case is when two good people don't get along anymore and can't agree on how to raise their children," he said. "Those are the cases that give me the most heartache."
Raised in Bethlehem by immigrant parents who never attended high school, Giordano said he often reflects on how he worked his way up from his parents' pizza shop to his judgeship.
"I wasn't born to this job," he said. "I got here on my own two legs."
Giordano - who also teaches classes at Cabrini and Moravian colleges and coaches baseball and basketball, which he jokingly described as "the hardest job" - said he will bring a community-oriented aspect to his decision making.
"I represent small town values," he said.
Whirlwind
Though Saturday's five-county visit was a whirlwind experience, Giordano said he was grateful to have the opportunity to be the Republican party candidate.
"I never expected to be here," he said. "I grew up wanting to be a musician!"
In a callback to his childhood dreams, Giordano brought out his acoustic guitar and entertained the crowd by singing a few songs with Snyder County Commissioner Chairman Joseph E. Kantz.
In addition to Northumberland County, the two candidates visited Lycoming, Union, Snyder and Montour counties on Saturday's tour.