Jessica A. Lopez
City: Tipp City
Education: Ohio State University, Bachelor’s of science 2003; Capital University Law School, Juris Doctorate, 2006
Current Employment: Licensed attorney in Ohio since 2006; Miami County Recorder since 2013
Community Involvement: Member of Tipp City Rotary, Troy Optimist Club, Zion Lutheran Church, Jo Ann Davidson Leadership Institute, Miami County Bar Association, Ohio State Bar Association, Miami County Women’s Republican Club.
Why are you seeking elected office? I am seeking this position because I see a need for improvement in the Miami County Municipal Court. Individuals in law enforcement, practicing attorneys and members of the Miami County Republican Party saw a need for change in the Miami County Municipal Court, and trusted I was the right person for the job.
Why should voters elect you? My experience as an attorney in private practice handling civil and criminal cases, my experience serving Miami County as an elected official, and my involvement in the community make me uniquely qualified to serve as Miami County Municipal Court Judge. The voters should know that I have a strong work ethic and experience in improving government services at the county level.
If elected, what will be your top three priorities? 1. Timely issue decisions. The Supreme Court of Ohio sets forth deadlines for cases to be decided. The Miami County Municipal Court has too many cases beyond the deadline. 2. Implement a veterans’ court. 3. Cooperate with law enforcement, first responders and other elected officials to address the drug issues that impact Miami County.
What specific plans do you have to address those top priorities? 1. I understand that being an elected official means that I am here to serve the community. I will put in the time and hours necessary to make sure the Miami County Municipal Court applies the law and timely issues decisions. 2. I have researched and sought input from other judges as to how successful veterans’ courts have been across Ohio. I believe I can implement this service in Miami County to address the issues that impact our veterans while still holding them accountable to the law. 3. As an elected official, I have worked with other elected officials to implement programs and services that help Miami County. I have met with first responders and members of the Miami County Sheriff’s Office to discuss the current drug issues facing the county. People know that I am willing to work with others to get the job done.
Anything else? I am energetic, hardworking, and open to positive change. I know how to modernize a government office as I did just that in the Miami County Recorder’s Office. As a mother of middle school age children, I have a vested interest in making Miami County a safe place to raise a family. I will make Miami County proud to have me as their municipal court judge.
Gary A. Nasal
Credit: DAN CLEARY
Credit: DAN CLEARY
Education: B.A., political science (Summa Cum Laude), Wright State University; J.D., University of Dayton School of Law
Current employment: Judge, Miami County Municipal Court
Community involvement: Past president (two terms), Miami County Unit of the American Cancer Society; past president, Troy Dollars for Scholars; past member, Troy Jaycees; several Troy Chamber of Commerce committees; Miami County Home Builders Foundation board member; past member of several Troy Strawberry Festival committees; elected to four terms as Miami County prosecuting attorney, a position that I served in for 18+ years; serving as elected Miami County Municipal Court judge after having been appointed for an unexpired term by the governor (currently in ninth year).
Why are you seeking elected office? To continue to serve in a very challenging and rewarding career in the law and the judiciary while serving the community in which I was born and have lived my entire life.
Why should voters elect you? My qualifications and experience as a practicing attorney having tried everything from parking violations to aggravated murder cases; my experience as the presiding and administrative judge of the municipal court; my experience presiding over jury trials in the municipal court; my experience in having revamped the probation department in the Miami County Municipal Court to the point where it was named the No. 2 department among all probation departments in the state of Ohio; my experience as a fiscally responsible elected official for almost 28 years in Miami County; my experience and cooperation with the clerk of courts in making ours a technologically state of the art municipal court; and, most importantly, my ability to bring together all those varied experiences with an absolute commitment and determination to the fair and impartial administration of justice, combined with the commitment to our community to make it a safe place to live, work and raise a family.
If elected, what will be your top three priorities? First, and foremost, the continuing drug epidemic. We are fighting daily and maneuvering daily to find new and varied ways to stem the addiction epidemic with programming that ends the cycle of addiction without losing sight of the fact that there is personal responsibility on the part of the criminal addict for the choice to break the law. We have a statewide recognized drug court, but we need to continue to seek new modalities of treatment to more effectively stem the tide of addiction and the supply of illegal drugs. Second, the state has just passed a new bill on bonds that severely limits a judge’s discretion in setting bond on arrested alleged criminals. In a municipal court where the rates of defendants failing to appear takes up tremendous resources on the part of the court and law enforcement, to force us to free even more alleged criminals during the pre-trial period will likely exacerbate an already overloaded system. Third, the state has shifted responsibility for the treatment and detention of mentally ill alleged criminals to the local level, which is under resourced to deal with this segment of the alleged criminal element. Without any consultation with the local courts, the state will now require that the vast majority of those people be housed and treated locally and hospitalized locally in a facility that at last look had not even been designated in our district. I have yet to hear my opponent acknowledge these problems.
What specific plans do you have to address those top priorities? The fix? There has to be a more cooperative relationship between the state and local jurisdictions. It may well take upper court intervention into the constitutionality of some state action. It will definitely take a commitment from all of the local providers of the services called into action by these bills to handle the immediate crises they may create. I’ve been a part of that cooperation before and will work diligently to foster an environment that allows us to deal effectively, fairly and justly with these issues and the people affected by them.
Anything else you would like voters to know? I do not make an effort to be tough. I strive every day to be fair, just and impartial. It is an active exercise in which I engage every day. However, I do not disregard one’s responsibility for one’s own actions and the responsibility the law puts on each of us for those actions. To do so, I use every aspect of my life’s experiences and all of the qualifications I have earned and learned in 28+ years of public service. I think qualifications and experience count.