Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Downtown Easton lawyer comes in first on both ballots in five-person race.
Antonia Grifo is set to become Easton's new district judge. The downtown Easton attorney came in first place on both the Democratic and Republican tickets late Tuesday night, according to unofficial results. With the nominations of both parties in the primary, Grifo is essentially guaranteed a win in this fall's general election. Grifo was up against four other challengers for the seat, running what's considered to be the busiest district court in the county. She had argued that her experience with the law and her connection to the community made her an ideal choice for the job. Facing her were city controller Tony Bassil, code inspector Sharbel Koorie, attorney Tim Prendergast and constable Lance Wheeler. Both Koorie and Bassil appeared …
Polls are still open for a few hours. Here's what you need to know before voting.
Tuesday, May 21 is primary election day in Pennsylvania. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. If you run into poll problems, you can contact the Northampton County voter registration office at 610-559-3055. This year's races in Easton include: There are also county-wide races: Here's a list of all the city's polling places, courtesy of Northampton County: If you're not sure where to vote, the Pennsylvania Department of State has you covered. Visit their website, which allows voters to find polling places by entering their county, city, street and house number into a search engine.
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Attorney and district judge hopeful Tim Prendergast faces bench warrant for $273 in unpaid Allentown tickets.
Whoever becomes Easton's next district judge will likely spend a lot of time dealing with unpaid parking tickets. But one of the five candidates for the job has found himself on the other side of the bench, after racking up $273 in unpaid tickets in Lehigh County. Those tickets were issued to attorney Tim Prendergast on May 30, 2012 in Allentown, but went unpaid long enough for a bench warrant to be issued. Prendergast acknowledged Thursday that he should have paid the tickets, and said he would head to District Judge Karen Devine's office "first thing" Friday to take care of them. "It's not as though I'm trying to cheat the system," he said. "It'll be paid. I'm not a scofflaw." He said it was an oversight. He gets ticketed frequently when…
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Two lawyers, a constable, a code inspector and the city controller all running for vacant court seat.
Five different candidates—all from different parts of Easton, all with deep roots in the community—want to be the city's next district judge. In the weeks leading up to the May 21 primary election, we asked all of them to fill out a questionnaire about themselves and their candidacy. Click on their names to see how they responded: Of the five candidates, three—Koorie, Grifo and Bassil—are cross-filed so that they'll appear on the Democratic and Republican ballots. The seat—which covers downtown Easton, College Hill and part of the West Ward—was left open last year upon the sudden death of Judge Gay Elwell. There's a chance the state could approve a county redistricting plan for its courts, which would move the section of the West Ward …
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Easton constable wants to become city's newest district judge.
Editor's note: In the weeks leading up to the May 21 primary, we asked Easton area candidates to fill out questionnaires about themselves. This is how district judge hopeful Lance Wheeler responded. Age: I am 45 years of age. Family: My family goes back many generations in Easton. I live on South Ninth Street with my beautiful wife, Jamie Pettis, and our two amazing daughters, Myla (3) and Makaeya (5). Political party affiliation: I’m a lifelong Democrat. Tell us about your educational background: I am a class of 1986 graduate of Easton High School. While attending Westchester Community College I played ball and started as a safety and cornerback. I’ve also graduated from the Pennsylvania Sheriff’s Academy and the State Constable …
Easton controller wants to serve as the city's new district judge.
Editor's note: In the weeks leading up to the May 21 primary, we asked Easton area candidates to fill out questionnaires about themselves. This is how district judge hopeful Tony Bassil responded. Tony Bassil Age: 54 Family: Married To Sia Bassil for 26 years and a proud father of 3 Children: Theresa, Jessica and Tony Political Party Affiliation: Democrat. Did cross file for The Magistrate Position. Tell us about your educational background: Bachelor Degree in Business & Finance from the American University Tell us about your professional/business background: 26 years Corporate Controller for TransNet Corporation, Somerville, NJ Easton City Controller since 2006, currently serving my 2nd term Easton commissioner and treasurer for the …
Easton code inspector wants to become new downtown district judge.
Editor's note: In the weeks leading up to the May 21 primary, we asked Easton area candidates to fill out questionnaires about themselves. This is how district judge hopeful Sharbel Koorie responded. Sharbel Koorie Age: 45 Family: Married to wife Lena for 25 years, father of four children George 23, Simon 20, Selena 16, Rafqa. Oldest of seven boys, five of which still live in one block around parents on south 9th street Political party affiliation: Republican Tell us about your educational background: Graduated from Easton Area High School Class of 1985 Tell us about your professional/business background: Employed by the City of Easton since 1999 as code officer / inspector with our city since 2004 Why are you running for district judge…
College Hill attorney wants to become Easton's next district judge.
Editor's note: In the weeks leading up to the May 21 primary, we asked Easton area candidates to fill out questionnaires about themselves. This is how district judge hopeful Tim Prendergast responded. Tim Prendergast Age: 46 Family: single/no children Poltical Party Affiliation: Democrat Educational Background: Easton Area H.S. 1985; Univ. Of North Carolina-Greensboro, Phi Beta Kappa, summa cum laude, 2000 B.A. Poilitcal Science, minors in communication studies and sociology; Penn State University Dickinson School of Law, 2003 Juris Doctor Business/Professional Background: I spent approximately 12 years in the Bar and Restaurant business as general manager, bar and kitchen manager, chef and owned a percentage of cajun/creole …
Downtown Easton attorney one of five candidates seeking vacant magistrate seat.
Editor's note: In the weeks leading up to the May 21 primary, we asked Easton area candidates to fill out questionnaires about themselves. This is how district judge hopeful Antonia Grifo responded. ANTONIA GRIFO Age: 56 DOB 10/9/1956 Family: Married to: Ronald W. Shipman, Esquire 12/31/1984 Children: Paolo Raines Shipman, Student, NYU, Marco R.G. Shipman, Student, NCC, Ronald W. Shipman, II, Pastor, Christopher M. Shipman, Esquire Grandchildren: Stella Rose Shipman Abigail Joy Shipman Political party affiliation: Cross-filed. (Registered Democrat.) Tell us about your educational background: FORDHAM UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW, J.D., 1982 BRYN MAWR COLLEGE, B.A. Cum Laude, 1978 With Departmental Honors. PHILLIPS EXETER …
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Tony Bassil announces district court campaign Tuesday in Centre Square.
After nearly seven years as Easton's controller, Tony Bassil says he's ready to try another elected office. Bassil announced Tuesday that he would run for district judge, joining the already crowded race for the seat left vacant by the death of Judge Gay Elwell last year. "Although no one can replace Gay, someone must be elected to this important position," he told a small group of supporters in Centre Square. Bassil, who was appointed controller in 2006 and won reelection in 2011 -- says he should be that person, arguing he's the only candidate in the race with public office experience. And although his opponents have had more involvement with the district court/legal system, Bassil argued that he has more managerial experience and is …
becky goldenberg
5:17 pm on Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Easton has made a good choice. Congratulations a tonio more ›