‘A new voice’ pushing for change

ELECTION 2009: Tina Polachek Gartley: “There are 10 seats on the county bench and I think it’s time for more diversity.”

WILKES-BARRE – Tina Polachek Gartley is emphatic when she says she is “not a good old boy.”

Gartley, 43, of Plains Township, is a Democratic candidate for a seat on the Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas. She is one of three candidates seeking two open seats on the county bench. The other two candidates are William Amesbury, 61, of Wilkes-Barre, and Richard Hughes, 48, of Fairview Township. Amesbury, a Democrat, won nominations on both party tickets. Hughes is a Republican.

“There are 10 seats on the county bench and I think it’s time for more diversity,” Gartley said. “We need a new voice; somebody with a different perspective. I’ve been a mom, a prosecutor, an advocate and a lawyer. Our current county bench consists of all the same kind of judges. We need to change that.”

Gartley has been practicing law since 1991 and the central focus of her career has been family law and protecting the rights of survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence. She is the senior attorney at the Barbara J. Hart Justice Center, Scranton, and is of counsel at Koff, Mangan, Vullo, Gartley & Lach in Kingston.

Gartley said she has always been independent and has never been about “politics, privilege or power.”

“This election is about making a difference; it’s about change,” she said.

Gartley said the county court system needs more checks and balances. She wants to see a local panel formed to review sentencing patterns.

“Had we been doing that, what happened in this county would have been clear to a review panel,” she said. “They would have seen that something was amiss.”

Gartley said she has never socialized with former judges Mark Ciavarella or Michael Conahan, who are both facing federal corruption charges. She called rumors of her association with the two disgraced former jurists “a blatant falsehood.”

“Certainly I was surprised to hear those rumors,” Gartley said. “I guess you can say I learned a lesson from it. I guess it came from someone who didn’t want me to win.”

Gartley did admit socializing with Judge Peter Paul Olszewski Jr., a friend of Gartley’s husband, Scott. She said they have had dinner with Olszewski and said they have socialized with other sitting county judges, including President Judge Chester Muroski.

Gartley said she raised about $23,000 for the May primary and will raise about the same amount for the Nov. 3 general election. One of her largest contributions came from “Friends of Maryanne Petrilla” for $1,000. Petrilla is chairman of the county Board of Commissioners.

“Most of my contributions have been smaller, much smaller,” Gartley said. “I have no outside business interests. I feel if you’re going to be a judge that should be your only job.”

Gartley said she entered the race with no political plan or agenda. She said she decided to stop complaining about things from the sidelines.

“I felt I should get in and step to the plate,” the mother of three boys said.

Gartley said she will have no problem transitioning from attorney/advocate to being a judge, if elected. She said she will base her decisions on facts placed into evidence and she will be a fair and impartial judge that will render just sentences.

In 1996, Gartley became the first S.T.O.P. (Stop Violence Against Women) grant prosecutor in the Luzerne County District Attorney’s Office. As a S.T.O.P. grant prosecutor, Gartley specialized in prosecuting crimes of sexual assault and domestic violence. She handled all aspects of the criminal prosecution of sexual assault and domestic violence crimes from the initial investigation through the trial, sentencing and the Megan’s Law hearings that determined whether the defendant would be listed as a sexually violent predator.

In addition to the criminal trials, Gartley was in PFA Court several times a week and prosecuted hundreds of Protection From Abuse Contempt Petitions. During this time she also instructed law enforcement officials on the protocols and procedures regarding sexual assault and domestic violence crimes and investigations. She also conducted training for medical, school and legal professionals.

In 2002, Gartley parlayed her work with victims of crimes to a pilot program that was created in Lackawanna County. The Barbara J. Hart Justice Center was created to provide civil legal representation to survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence in Lackawanna and Susquehanna counties.

Gartley is a summa cum laude graduate of College Misericordia, with a Bachelor of Science degree in history and English and minors in writing and Russian Area studies. She received her Juris Doctorate from Syracuse University College of Law and was appointed to the Order of the Barristers.

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Candidate feels court system needs checks and balances

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