CAMBRIA COUNTY, Pa. (WJAC) — The clock is ticking and the race is on for the Municipal Primary -- on Tuesday, May 16th -- to see who will become the newest Cambria County judges.

Five local attorneys are vying for a seat on the bench inside of the historic Cambria County Courthouse.

"The county judges are going to be the people that will be giving the citizens of Cambria County judicial fairness."

That's what Lauren Cascino Presser, the President-elect of the Cambria County Bar Association, told 6 News about the judicial election.

"They're the ones who are going to be making really important decisions that are going to affect the lives of people that go in front of these county judges," she said.

There are currently six judges sitting on the Cambria County Court of Common Pleas:

  • President Judge Norman Krumenacker
  • Judge David Tulowitzki
  • Judge Patrick Kiniry
  • Judge Linda Rovder Fleming
  • Judge Tamara Bernstein
  • Senior Judge Timothy Creany

Although, with President Judge Krumenacker and Judge Kiniry retiring, two spots will be left open.

These five attorneys will be on the ballot in a few weeks in the hopes of filling those spots:

  • Forrest Fordham
  • Michael Carbonara
  • Timothy Sloan
  • Brett Smith
  • Tonilyn Chippie Kargo

"We're going to be replacing a lot of the bench that we currently have in the county. It's a really important election," Cascino Presser told 6 News.

Those elected will serve to do the important job of overseeing everything from criminal to civil cases.

The judges use their legal background to apply the law to serve the residents of Cambria County.

We have to have people on the bench who are going to have good trial and courtroom experience, who are going to have experience in a wide range of legal fields, and who are going to have the right temperament for that position," Cascino Presser told 6 News.

The Cambria County Bar Association released their recommendations on who they believe the public should vote for.

Cascino Presser says their organization has done this every judicial election for the last 30 years.

  • Forest Fordham -- highly recommended
  • Michael Carbonara -- recommended
  • Timothy Sloan -- recommended
  • Brett Smith -- not recommended at this time
  • Tonilyn Chippie Kargo -- did not receive enough votes in any category to achieve a ranking

Ballots were mailed to each member of the Cambria County Bar Association -- and were completed anonymously -- before being counted by a CPA firm.

Cascino Presser says the members of their organization work with these candidates on a professional and social level.

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