According to a Morning Call tabulation, Lenny Zito and Michael Koury have won the nods of both parties for Northampton County judge. The November race will be between Bethlehem attorney Barb Hollenbach and State Rep. Craig Dally. Dally was top vote getter among Republicans and just missed the Democratic nod by less than one hundred votes.
My favorite judicial candidate, Sam Murray, finished 7th among Democrats and 4th among Republicans.
Update: I wish to thank an anonymous commenter who correctly notes that mathematically, this race does not guarantee a judgeship to either Zito or Koury. Any combination of the 4 candidates could prevail.
34 comments:
Sad day that Koury actually won. He's a disgrace.
Pray to God you don't have to come before Koury after ripping him apart for so long..Way to go Mike!!
I don't believe it's a sad day that he won.He worked hard for three elections to get here. He took no money from Lawyers and ran a clean campaign. I personally think he'll do a great job. Looks like your polls, Mike, were alot more accurate than Bernie's polls.
I have said all along not to underestimate Michael Koury, it seems he has more support then most people think.
I am glad the voters had common sense and elected him to the county bench.
I feel really sorry for criminals, they are in for a rough ride in front of Mike.
Way to go Mike!
Fred Schoenenberger
His polls were definitely more accurate. He was also the least qualified.
Anon 6:09 said
"Pray to God you don't have to come before Koury after ripping him apart for so long..Way to go Mike!!"
I know Koury and have been before him many times. He treats everyone fairly - the people who support him and the people who hate him. Just ask any lawyer who has come in to his courtroom and I'm sure they will confirm that.
Least Qualified to you and a bunch
of snobby lawyers at the Bar. Who cares. Like Obama said,"We're looking for people with life experience. He's a good man with a great family and he deserved the victory..
Anon 7:26
Just because he hangs Bernie doesn't mean he isn't being fair..
Some people deserve to be hung..
Bernie,
I believe your wrong! The race isn't just between Hollenbach and Dally. It's all four of them. Koury could still lose in the general, if enough people vote for the other three with legal experience. Or am I wrong?
7:43
You are wrong..never happened, never will...To many straight ballot voters on both sides..
Anon 7:43
I believe you're correct . . . 3 slots and 4 candidates. Even if Zito and Khoury are on the R and D sides of the ballot, it will still be the top 3 vote getters.
I fear that the race will go negative at some point.
I knew Koury & Zito were going to win
Anon 7:43,
I bow to your logic on this point. It was wrong to suggest it is a lock because it is not a mathematical certainty that Koury and Zito will be elected.
I'm so sick of hearing how great Koury is because he didn't accept money from attorneys. The brutal truth is no attorneys would contribute any money to him, that's why he didn't take money from attorneys!!!!
All of the judicial candidates were good candidates. The key to getting the most votes is name recognition. I am sure Murray, Longenbach, Hollenbach, Narlesky and Heimbach will all do better on their next attempt.
Very sad day... mostly because the voters didn't vote for the best candidate being Sam Murray! Come on, Same Murray is by far the best candidate for Judge. What a shame
Congrats to Judge Zito. Sam will surely win in 3 years when the election is held after Len retires.
Dear 9:12
Everyone knew that Mike would pull well, especially on the Dem side. So you are telling me that no lawyers, knowing that he had a good chance to become judge, would have given him money..Are you nuts? Even Bernie would have to concede that. If he had wanted money from Attorneys he could have gotten all he needs and then some..
Dear 9:16,
You're pathetic..
Did you not see the poll done by the bar association??? The members of the bar voted Koury least qualified for the job! Why the heck would they contribute money to him?? Just face it, Koury is breezing through life on his father's name and that's about it. Him, as an individual, is a disgrace and very unliked individual!
Disliked by you obviously. However, not disliked by the people in his district or the voters OF BOTH PARTIES in Northampton County. Stop crying already! He won..
Oh, but he is disliked by many. He's solely running on his father's name (who was a well respected man). Eventually, his true colors will shine and ALL will see the real Mike Koury! I can't wait to sit back and watch it all unfold some day! How nice it will be!!
Dear 9:52
What are you smoking?? The snobs in the Bar voted him least qulified so that means they wouldn't have given him money???
You have a very high opinion of Lawyers I guess. God Bless you for being in the 1% of the population who does. To sum it up,
"Of course they'd have given him money" if he'd have asked. Political analysis and intellect aren't your strong suites, are they??
OK, folks, let's knock off the personal shots if possible. The election is over, at least for now. Koury ran a clean campaign, took no money from lawyers and came out a winner on both ballots. While he can still lose in November, his election is all but assured.
To the person who hates Koury, pray you are wrong about him. He was not in my top three either, but the people have spoken. That's the way it works.
Bernie,
While it is not a certainty that they will win, it is a political lock. Pennsylvania has the straight ticket option, which a large enough segment of the population takes in municipal elections to make it a virtual lock. Now, the one wild card here is that Dally actually got the most votes of any candidate running, so he could probably still end up winning in November, but it'd take a modern miracle for Zito or Koury to not be Judge Zito or Judge Koury the day after.
Too bad, Craig couldn't have got an extra 100+ Democratic Votes, then we wouldn't have to see any signs for Judge in November.
Poor Dally. He received more votes combined than any other candidate. He also got more votes alone on the Republican side than Hollenbach received on the Democrat and Republican ballots combined. Close, close election. Hollenbach is going to have a very tough time in the fall, especially if she runs her campaign around Lisa Boscola again.
It will be interesting to track how much money will now be spent by all four candidates until november. Since only the three highest vote getters will prevail, none can afford to sit back and assume anything. Since money is the mother's milk of politics much will be spent to assure victory. The question is who can afford or risk offending by not contributing??
People must have gone in and just yanked the Democratic lever - Can Hollenbach be out - spent? She supposedly spent $40,000 in the past 10 days prior to the election.
Bernie,
No need to bow! Just an observation.
BC
Bernie,
Are you going to pay out on our little friendly bet since this outcome prevailed?
I think the ante was that you have to treat me to a sandwich at Josie's! (Ha-ha!)
Oh by the way to the anon who likes to bad mouth people, especially, ANONYMOUSLY; even you get my prayers.
Please remember, when you point your finger, you have three more of your fingers pointing back at you...
Peace out, ~~Alex
I agree that Zito and Koury are virtual locks to win in Nov. Only a scandal or a barrage of negative publicity would affect their chances. Can I look forward to receiving twice the number of self-promotional mailers from Dally b/w now and the general election?
When I went to vote I noticed on the table where the registrars sit that there was a box of chocolates. Displayed prominently on the box were the words: "Chocolates for poll workers. Thank you for dedicating your time. Courtesy of ..." and then the name of an elected state official. It would have been difficult for anyone voting to overlook the box or the msg.
That certainly is illegal if the elected state official is standing for election. But if not, I say let the poor poll workers have a little treat. They're paid a pittance to work a very long day with no breaks.
Koury had a strong support system from his family and community, his secret weapon. He had a much greater number of signs out in the County, surpassed only maybe by Stoffa up until his were stolen. The day I voted, miles away from Easton, there was one person representing a judicial candidate at the door of the polling place, a beautiful Lebanese woman with a thick accent shielding her face from the sun with a hand held large Koury sign and passing out all kinds of paper paraphenalia. No other judges had anyone there to represent them.
Did she ask about me? Lots of women do that, you know.
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