Last month, I told you that Mortgage Banker Sam Royer is running for Jim Narlesky's job. It's now official. Royer has announced his candidacy for Magisterial District Judge in Hanover Township (Northampton County) and the 14th Ward in Bethlehem. His campaign chairman is Elmer Gates and his treasurer is Patrick Landon.Six days after graduating from Freedom High School in '93, Sam joined the Marines, where he served in the 1st Marine division as a fire team and squad leader. For the last fourteen years, he's been a Mortgage Banker.
Sam Royer resides in Hanover Township (Northampton County) with his wife Kelly and their 3 children. He is active in and serves as coach for various youth athletic activities in the Bethlehem area as well as with Bethlehem Christian School and the Saucon Valley Elementary schools WATCH D.O.G.S. (Dads of Great Students) program. In 2010, Sam was a nominee for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Man of the Year award. A member of Life Church in Allentown, he serves on their finance committee.
Sam Royer says he believes that his life long history in the district, coupled with his experience with people from every walk of life and the world of banking and finance law, have given him a good perspective on the challenges facing both government and the private citizens in our area. “A magisterial district court is, by design of our forefathers, the court for the common man and I believe that my education and experience will serve their needs and the justice system well.”
More information about Sam and his campaign is available on his website.
Great! If I get nailed for unpaid parking tickets in his District, he'll probably make me do push-ups.
14 comments:
He seems nice enough, but way short on practical experience and life experience. I would strongly suggest that James Narlesky be retained in this position.
VOR
Sam is a great guy and spent a great amount of time lobbying for father's rights in Harrisburg. He is more than qualified for the position.
Sam has agreat deal of experience in finance and banking. He would bring experence in what is becoming the modern crime, fraud , identity theft and bank scams.
How is lobbying experience relevant to being a DJ...DJ's do not hear custody or support cases.
Also not sure how financial experience helps.
This guy will get smoked by Narlesky. Although he should be well financed considering he is backed by Elmer Gates.
Finance? Banking? Lobbying?
Minimally needed - 21 years of age Resident of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania...
Resident of his/her magisterial district for a one-year period prior to election...
Certified by the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts as successfully completing a rigorous training and education program administered by the Minor Judiciary Education Board
OR
Be an Attorney admitted to the Bar in Pennsylvania. A bachelor's degree and work experience usually constitute the minimum requirements for judges and magistrates, but most workers have law degrees.
His lobbying activities, financial and banking experience counts about 1%.
Even Judge "Judy" over in the northeast Bethlehem area had more going for her. Oh, I forgot, Elmer likes him.
Anonymous said...
"Sam is a great guy and spent a great amount of time lobbying for father's rights in Harrisburg. He is more than qualified for the position."
Yeah, and I like French dressing on my salad, so therefore I am a culinary expert and have experience with French cuisine.
Go away....
VOR mentioned Sam is short on life experience or practical experience. The two posts mentioned that he has both of those two things.
There are a few non-attorneys who are DJs in the Lehigh Valley. Even the attorneys who get the position take the training course.
I doubt many of the naysayers here have the cajones to go out to Harrisburg, meet with representatives and testify before a state panel under oath about reforming the legal system.
But, why don't you guys give Sam a call and talk to him? Judge for yourself whether he is qualified.
I'm sure Narlesky has more experience being a District Judge...guy's already an attorney and knows the job and does it well.
It would be nice to see if these candidates would actually complete the AOPC's requirements and get certified BEFORE RUNNING for the job. (Don't know if Mr. Royer has)
That way you can really say you are certified to do the job right away and that you are serious about wanting the job.
And..
Not just looking for a way out of the mortgage banker business that has crippled so many people into losing their homes with shoddy loans to make a quick dollar.
I'm wondering how many people lost their houses on loans he's brokered?
I'm not saying he is a bad guy...on the surface it seems he does more then his share and is upstanding but you have to question his desire to want this job in this economy with a job title like mortgage banker.
Has JIm Narlesky announced that he's running?
Bernie-
From January 30th ET:
"District Judge James Narlesky announced today he will run for a seat in the Common Pleas Court.
Narlesky, 59, of Hanover Township, has been a district judge since 2005 and an attorney for 35 years. He served as an assistant district attorney in Northampton County for 22 years, maintained a private practice and was an assistant county solicitor.
There are three seats open this election season in the Common Pleas Court."
BTW- anon 9:47 summed up my feelings. Again, maybe he's (Royer) a nice guy, as has been put forth by others on this and on other threads, but I think we are getting into trouble if that's the new test for candidates whether they be for Bethlehem city council, the minor judiciary, Norco executive, etc...
What if a guy is nice but incompetent?
There is no reason to remove James Narlesky, who by the way, is competent, experienced and by all measures also a "nice guy".
VOR
How well do we all really know Narlesky??? We really dont know anything about Mr. Royer and yet on his website he says he is going to be visiting every person in his district so they can ask him anything they want. You can even do that now, by calling him. I know I will! Call him and ask him why does he want this position? Don’t call the kettle black before even knowing what the kettle is doing. You don’t need a law degree in order to be a DJ, surprisingly, only a GED. Clearly Mr. Royer has more education than a GED. He also wouldn’t be in the mortgage business for so long if he gave bad mortgages, I’m sure. Maybe this man just wants to serve the community because he wants to be there for the people. Just like he was in the military, he wanted to serve. Today’s world and the people in it don’t remember or know what’s its like to serve, only to be served. Seriously, his website alone, gives you a lot of personal information on him and (to me) a piece of his heart. Be mature about this. Lets give him a chance and get to know him more before we pass our own Judgement!!!
I don't know Sam Royer personally, but he seems nice enough. I do know Judge Jim Narlesky, and he is a wonderful man, but most importantly he is a fair and impartial judge, who IS qualified for the position he already holds.
I appreciate that Mr. Royer wants to help out in his community, but truly does he have any experience in the law to run for this position? Without any background in the law how can someone state that he is "more than qualified" for a position, than an attorney or already current judge? Has he taken the test necessary to be certified for this position already?
Judge Narlesky is already in the position, knows the job, and is beyond qualified to continue serving his community. He was a practicing attorney for many years, before ever running for this position himself.
Did this guy take the test for non-lawyers to become a DJ? If so, did he pass?
You don't need to take it to run, but need to pass it before you can be a DJ.
I think something like 70% percent fail the first time.
Is this guy certified?
If Mr. Royer was running against another candidate, one with his lack of experience, I'd consider him on the basis put forth by 5:21 - but he is not running against a nobody. He is running against a judge, a sitting judge with experience. This is a no-brainer. Teachers must be qualified, doctors must be qualified, JUDGES must be qualified.
VOR
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