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KINGSTON TWP. — For 24 years, District Judge James E. Tupper served as district judge in the Back Mountain. But on Dec. 31 he will hang up his black robe, and four Back Mountain residents are seeking his seat.

Brian Tupper and attorneys Gary Michak, Thomas Mosca and Adelle Zavada are vying to fill the six-year term in District 11-3-09. All candidates are cross-filed for the May 16 primary.

District judges in Pennsylvania are elected to six-year terms and are tasked with presiding over preliminary arraignments and hearings in criminal cases, as well as handling minor civil matters and proceedings involving summary offenses. They are compensated $89,438.

The seat is one of 10 Luzerne County magisterial district judgeships up for grabs in this year’s election.

• Gary Michak, a Plymouth native, is campaigning on a promise to help offenders access resources that could prevent repeat violations.

For example, the Veterans Court is designed to help military personnel charged with non-violent crimes receive aid to overcome mental illness, drug addiction and other related issues, the 56-year-old Harveys Lake resident said.

Michak also wants to work with other district judges to implement a veterans diversion program, which would be designed to address the issues faced by veterans, such as drug abuse that may stem from post-traumatic stress disorder, depression or other mental health issues.

“There are veterans diversion programs is in at least five counties but not Luzerne County,” he said.

The Wyoming Valley West alumnus graduated from King’s College in 1984 with a double major in Business Administration and Government. In 1986, he earned a MBA in International Business and Marketing from Penn State.

Michak earned a Juris Doctorate from the University of Miami College of Law in 1994. He also participated in a study-abroad program with University College of London School of Law.

He has an extensive business background, starting with opening a karate school in Plymouth when he was 16 years old.

He has worked for Chrysler Motors in Detroit; Zenith Electronics, Mexico; Johnson Controls, Mexico; and Flextronics International, Stockholm, Sweden, and Boulder, Co.

In 2004, Michak opened a private law practice in Shavertown.

Thomas Mosca has presented cases involving drug-related crimes and landlord-tenant transactions in front of the Courts of Appeals and Common Pleas in Northeastern and Central Pennsylvania.

He was appointed by former Luzerne County Controller Walter Griffith as the county controller solicitor in December 2009 and served as a part-time senior law clerk for Judge Richard M. Hughes III from January 2012 to September 2015.

Mosca was contracted by the county to provide assigned legal services from January 2016 to March 2017.

The 56-year-old Dallas resident’s resume totes a lot of legal experience, some of which has voters questioning if Mosca will use the district judge position to reach higher elected positions.

His answer is no.

“I pledge not to use this post as a stepping stone for other offices,” he said, adding he will close his 26-year law practice in Kingston if elected.

Also, if elected, Mosca wants to increase awareness about human trafficking, the region’s opioid epidemic, and violence against police officers through community outreach programs.

Mosca earned a law degree from Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law in Washington, D.C.

The Wyoming Seminary and Wilkes University alumnus is also a member of the American, Pennsylvanian, and Luzerne County bar associations.

Mosca also received a five-star peer rating for the “highest level of professional excellence” by Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Ratings. Martindale-Hubbel is a ranking system designed for judges and other legal professionals to assess a lawyer’s or law firm’s services and ethics.

Brian Tupper, a classification analyst at Berkshire Hathaway GUARD Insurance Company in Wilkes-Barre, wants to bring his knowledge acquired through a certification training course held by the Justified Judicial System of Pennsylvania to the position.

The four-week course taught the 37-year-old Shavertown resident how to handle claims under $12,000, landlord and tenant issues, traffic violations, preliminary hearings and warrants, as well as many other legal matters he would encounter if elected.

Tupper said he was one of nine individuals who passed the exam on the first attempt to earn the certification.

“There were 45 people in the class,” he said.

Tupper believes he possesses all the right attributes for the post.

“I am well educated, fair-minded and hard working,” Tupper said. “I will be a full-time judge.”

If elected, Tupper plans to work with local law enforcement to increase outreach programs for children to promote safety and drug awareness.

He graduated magna cum laude from Misericordia University in Dallas with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration.

Tupper has worked at the State Correctional Institution at Dallas and the State Workers’ Insurance Fund in Scranton.

Adelle Zavada, a 17-year U.S. Air Force veteran, a licensed pharmacist and attorney, has a diverse background.

She says her compassion in seeing both sides of a situation and desire to help offenders reach the services they need is the backbone to her campaign.

The 65-year-old Harveys Lake resident served as a maintenance and logistics officer, a supervisor and commander of several combat aircraft wings in the Air Force.

She acquired a state pharmacist license, which she still maintains.

“I have a keen insight into the opioid crisis,” she said in an emailed statement. “I certainly would use my visibility as a judge to place emphasis on that issue through education and involvement in programs to address addiction.”

Zavada is accredited by the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs to assist veterans with benefits claims.

If elected, she would work with Judge Richard M. Hughes III and Judge Joseph F. Sklarosky Jr. to develop a veterans diversion program on the district level.

Zavada earned a law degree from Widener University Law School in Harrisburg, where she currently serves on the Dean’s Veterans Initiative Advisory Board.

She is employed as an attorney at the Widener University Law School Central Pennsylvania Law Clinic, which she would leave if elected.

She is a member of the bar associations for Dauphin, Luzerne and Lackawanna counties as well as the state bar.

During her legal career, Zavada has presented cases before the Pennsylvania Superior Court and is admitted to the United States Supreme Court.

Michak
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/web1_Michak-cropped-2.jpgMichak

Tupper
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/web1_Brian_Tupper2-2.jpgTupper

Mosca
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/web1_ThomasMosca-2.jpgMosca

Zavada
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/web1_Zavada1100-2.jpgZavada

https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/web1_gavel-1.jpg

By Eileen Godin

egodin@www.timesleader.com

Reach Eileen Godin at 570-991-6387 or on Twitter @TLNews.