Candidates battle for the gavel

Published 12:00 am Friday, October 14, 2005

The bell has rung. The boxing gloves are laced. Neither contender is giving an inch.

Although the judgeship of the Ironton Municipal Court has become Lawrence County's heavyweight title bout, neither of the men involved is sure that all the politicking in the world would make much of a difference.

In one corner, awaits Judge O. Clark Collins. Although he has headed up the municipal court for 24 years, this is the first time since he was elected that he has had opposition on the ticket.

Email newsletter signup

In the other corner, stands the challenger Kevin Waldo, with a record as an attorney as long as Collins' history in the judge's seat. Even the lawyer wasn't sure that either candidates' arguments would have much effect.

So in the absence of politicking, it comes down to this: A no-holds-barred interview on the candidates and their opposing views on the future of the Ironton Municipal Court. Two men, one gavel.

Let's get ready to rumble.

O. CLARK COLLINS JR.

Why do you want to be judge?

&#8221I feel there's a lot remaining to be done, and I feel that we've done a good job here. I feel that it's an honorable thing to do, and a privilege to serve the people. I've enjoyed it, and I do enjoy serving the people. It's been a fair court. I've got a good staff. I've enjoyed the work, and there's a lot of work left to be done.“

What qualities should people look for

in a judge?

&#8221A judge has to have a good temperament, he has to be fair, and I think in municipal court he has to have common sense, and I think those are good qualities for a judge on the municipal bench to have.“

How much of an effect do you think the race will have on the final outcome?

&#8221I think people know how they're going to vote, I don't there's going to be a whole lot of change. Hopefully, my record and experience will make a difference, but I think because we're both known, people pretty well know how they're going to vote in this.“

Is it odd seeing your face everywhere?

&#8221That's just part of the political arena, you have to get out and you have to see the people. I've enjoyed it. I've enjoyed it from the aspect that it's gotten me out into the public. I enjoy that, and I enjoy seeing people and campaigning.“

What sets you apart from your opposition?

&#8221Experience, basically experience. There's no substitute for experience. We've been here, we've done it. We have an experienced court, and I think that's what separates us. I've handled over 100,000 criminal cases over here in the past 24 years Š he just doesn't have the experience that we've had in running this court.“

Who's your hero?

&#8221My dad (State Senator Oakley C. Collins) is. One of the reasons it is dad, is that I think he's touched more people's lives and helped people in southern Ohio more than anybody I know. It didn't make any difference to dad whether they were Republican or Democrat, if he could help them he would. He helped so many people, and I've always admired him for that.“

What's something people don't know about you?

&#8221I'm not so sure there is anything that they don't know. You're always subject to so much scrutiny in a small community. I think people know me, they know my roots. I don't think there's anything that they don't know about me, and I think that's why we've had success in the past.“

Say something nice about your opponent.

&#8221You know, he's put a lot of time and effort into the campaign. He's worked hard on it.“

Why would you

do the best job?

&#8221We've had superior judicial service awards from the Ohio Supreme Court, we've had top rankings in the state, our probation department was ranked in the top three in the state of Ohio, out of 200 programs. We've had consistent top rankings for DUI convictions and making our streets and highways safer.

&#8221We established the community service program 24 years ago that saved millions of dollars for the taxpayers. I think this kind of service is a record, it's not just promises. We have to stand by our records when we run for office.

&#8221I feel that it's a good record for the community, I think we're recognized throughout the state as having a top-notch court here, and I don't think the people of this state deserve any less.“

KEVIN WALDO

Why do you want to be judge?

&#8221I think I can do a better job of being fair and giving everybody an equal shot at justice. I believe I can administer justice more fairly and equitably. I think this would be the best fit for me personally, I like the Ironton Municipal Court setting. I think I can do a good job, and I think I can provide the citizens of Ironton with a better opportunity to achieve justice out of that court.“

What qualities should people look for

in a judge?

&#8221I think people should look for the qualities of honesty and integrity and character and a person who's not prone to using intimidation as a means of getting something. Š My theory on what to look for is a person who has high regard for his job, and the ethics and edicts of his job. I don't intimidate anybody into being one way or another.“

How much of an effect do you think the race will have on the final outcome?

&#8221When we registered, right then, probably 85 to 90 percent of the people knew who they were going to vote for, and it has probably not changed.“ Waldo said. &#8221So there's been a whole lot of work put forth by a lot of people and I just don't know if it's effective.“

Is it odd seeing your face everywhere?

&#8221It's extremely strange. I kid the girls at the office, and some of the people in the campaign, that I wish we could substitute Tom Selleck's picture for mine. Clark has a tendency to be very photogenic, and he's very concerned about that. I've never been too concerned about how I look.“

What sets you apart from your opponent?

&#8221He's been in the office for 24 years, I think when a person is in an office for a long time, they get kind of set in their ways, they do things because that's the way they've always done it. Š What sets us apart is, on his side of this political battle, he's relying on his record of DUI convictions and having a wonderful work program, things like that. I tend believe that a judge should do something to help alleviate crime and recidivism, and jump into another century.“

Who's your hero?

&#8221The only person I can think of as being a hero of mine would be my dad. He exemplified to me hard work, determination, family values. It sounds kind of corny, but my dad instilled in me that you should treat people the way you want to be treated. It's a trite phrase, but that would be the reason that he's my hero, because he taught me that you have to live by the Golden Rule.“

What's something people don't know about you?

&#8221When I have time to watch a movie, I like to watch ‘O, Brother Where Art Thou.' I get a big kick out of that. I've watched that probably 20 times.“

Say something nice about your opponent.

&#8221He's provided 24 years of service to the Ironton Municipal Court as judge.“

Why would you do

the best job?

&#8221Also, I'm not going to boast about things like how many people I convict for a certain crime. I think that's exactly improper, to boast about a 98 percent conviction rate.

It's like (Supreme Court Chief Justice) Roberts said at the senate confirmation hearing: A judge is supposed to be an umpire. You're not pitching, you're not catching, you're not batting.

A judge should sit back, review all the facts that come before him, then consider the law and make a decision. I don't want to be a judge who says that if you're charged with DUI you have a 98.3 percent chance of being found guilty if you're in front of me. That's not my way. I don't think that's justice.“