MEDINA – Whoever becomes the next judge of the Medina Municipal Court will have a lot of issues on his plate, from helping to resolve the conflicts between the city over expanding the court to changes in the law and tackling issues that arise.

Three Republican candidates, Fred Bougher, Joe Salzgeber and Gary Werner, are facing off in the primary election May 2. The winner of that race will face off against a Democratic and one independent challenger. However, the general election race is technically non-partisan, so candidates will not have a party affiliation after their names.

Medina Municipal Judge Dale Chase announced in January he would not seek re-election for another six-year term. He was first elected in 1987.

Bougher, 65, of Medina, is currently employed as in-house counsel for Invacare in Elyria supervising other attorneys and working on litigation. He also served as an officer and sergeant on the Medina Police Department in the 1970s.

Salzgeber, 48, has a private practice in Medina and also serves as a Brunswick city councilman. He has previously served as an assistant county prosecutor and said he regularly appears in Medina Municipal Court on various matters.

Werner, 55, previously served as Brunswick’s mayor from 2010-13 and as a Brunswick councilman. He is employed as an attorney at Berns, Ockner and Greenberger in Beachwood, specializing in zoning and land use matters.

The candidates were asked their views on three different topics: the dispute over the courthouse facility, legal issues – especially the recent changes to OVI laws, and concerns voters have brought up to them during their campaigns.

Courthouse conflict
Medina City Council and Judge Chase have been negotiating since 2014 over a proposed expansion or possible construction of a new court near or adjacent to the current building on North Elmwood Street in Medina. Negotiations came to a standstill recently when councilmen balked on the price of both constructing a new facility and expanding the current facility. The candidates agreed this issue will not be solved until a new judge takes office.

“Someone needs to come in and mediate a resolution,” Bougher said.

Bougher said he thinks a combined municipal-county courthouse facility originally proposed nearly 10 years ago is worth further investigation.

“A combined county-city courthouse complex makes a lot of sense,” he said.

Salzgeber said he met with Medina Mayor Dennis Hanwell on the issue and is interested in working on a resolution if elected. As a Brunswick councilman, he added he has worked with Medina leaders in the past.

Salzgeber said he disagrees with Chase’s stance that the grant funding set to be used to construct a parking deck near the court is illegal as it would not be used for those for government business most of the time.

If elected, Werner said he would like to re-explore the growth projections for the court to see exactly what kind of expansion project needs to be completed. In his opinion, addressing safety issues regarding those in custody and storage concerns seem to be the top priorities.

“We need to figure out what we actually need,” he said.

OVI cases
During his time on the bench, Judge Chase was known in the region for his hard-line stances on criminal cases, especially his refusal to grant plea bargains for those charged with driving under the influence (OVI) even as a first offense.

The state’s OVI laws have recently changed, increasing the license suspension period for offenders and lengthening the lookback period for possible felony cases (fourth offense) from 6 to 10 years. Other changes include modification of how limited driving privileges are handled, with first-time offenders permitted unlimited privileges if they pay for an ignition device where they must blow into before the vehicle starts.

Bougher said he is generally in support of not plea bargaining OVI cases and is familiar with how these cases are processed through court during his previous service as an acting judge in Chase’s court.

However, he said a judge’s responsibility is to determine sentences on cases brought before them and that the prosecutors are responsible for bringing the charges, and the defense attorneys have the job of advocating for their clients.

Salzgeber said he thinks the court should take more proactive measures towards repeat offenders, many of whom have drug or alcohol problems. The change in the lookback statute will mean more felony cases handled by the common pleas court, but he thinks there is an opportunity to work with defendants earlier at the municipal court level.

If elected, he would like to try and set up a drug court run similarly to that of the two common pleas judges where multiple OVI offenders with addiction problems could complete a program as part of their sentence.

Werner said the new laws allow judges a little more latitude in handling cases, especially for first-time offenders, as many of them will not reoffend.

When he ran the Brunswick’s Mayor Court during his term as mayor, he said he tried to be “three-fold fair,” fair to the individual, fair to defendants with similar cases and fair to the community, a pledge he would continue in municipal court.

Other concerns
Bougher said another issue he would like to look into if elected is how bond schedule amounts are determined for criminal defendants; high amounts punish those who do not have the funds and forces them to remain behind bars. This also costs the county, who is responsible for housing them during this time at the jail.

“This is not an equal enforcement of the law,” he said. “These people haven’t been convicted.”

Instead of incarceration, Bougher said those who are released could be forced to regularly report to the probation department while their case goes through the court.

Salzgeber said he has heard from voters who are concerned about the high number of opioid addicts and thought a municipal court drug court could also possibly be used for drug addicts who are charged with misdemeanor theft counts, a common occurrence as these individuals often steal to support their habits, he said. Most drug possession charges, including heroin, are felonies and are handled in common pleas court.

In addition, he would like to look into creating a program tailored to veterans, especially those who have served in recent conflicts and have drug or mental health problems that have led them to come before the court.

In the program, they could be made aware of resources available to them from the Veterans Administration and others.

He said this type of program could also be part of a specialized mental health court program similar to one run by Common Pleas Judge Joyce Kimbler.

Werner said other issues he would address if elected is trying to improve courtroom technology and to try and better utilize local resources for defendants suffering from drug addiction.

He said he is also interested in exploring bail reform; part of this process is using a nine-factor test to determine who is a potential flight risk or likely to reoffend before setting bond.

“Sometimes we hold them until arraignment when there is no good reason to hold them,” Werner said.

The winner of the Republican primary will face Democrat J.R. Russell, an attorney with Goldman & Rosen in Akron and independent candidate Bob Campbell, a criminal defense attorney who mostly practices in Medina County.