Stefanie Salavantis hugs a supporter during her victory party Tuesday night at the River Grille in Plains Township. At press time, Salavantis held a commanding lead among the three candidates for two Luzerne County judge positions.
Bill O’Boyle | Times Leader
WILKES-BARRE — Former Luzerne County District Attorney Stefanie Salavantis easily won her bid to become a judge in the Court of Common Pleas, but the race for the second seat turned out to be a close battle.
According to unofficial results, with 180 of 186 precincts reporting, State Rep. Tarah Toohil appeared to have defeated Magisterial District Judge Alexandra Kokura Kravitz.
The official results showed Salavantis with 40,206 votes to 30,760 for Toohil and 27,494 for Kokura Kravitz.
Salavantis and Toohil are Republicans and Kokura Kravitz is a Democrat. Salavantis won both party nominations in the May primary, while Toohil won the Republican nomination and Kokura Kravitz got the Democratic nod.
“I ran on my record,” Salavantis said at her victory celebration at the River Grille in Plains Township. “The voters appreciated my work in the county and in the community and I am grateful for their support.”
Salavantis said she traveled throughout the county on election day, visiting polls and she said she was overwhelmed with the support she was receiving.
“I can’t say how thankful I am,” she said. “I will represent them to the best of my ability.”
After a long night of watching results and talking to supporters, Salavantis turned to her husband, Jim McGrady, and said, “Now we can go home to (their daughter) Remington.”
Toohil held a celebration at the Brass Buckle Restaurant in Conyngham.
“We are extremely honored, humbled and thankful for every vote that was cast for us,” Toohil said. “Our judicial campaign was a grassroots effort that truly encompassed all of the diverse and hardworking residents of Luzerne County.”
Toohil continued, “We are privileged to have been on the people’s ballot and to have made it through to the general election today. I want to thank our amazing team of supporters and poll workers across this entire county.”
All three candidates ran as experienced attorneys, and each brought a significant yet distinct set of qualifications to the race.
It is expected that both winning candidates will be assigned to family court, a growing focus of the county court system.
An impromptu victory celebration at the Dupont Volunteer Hose Company turned sour around 11 p.m. Tuesday, as Toohil surged ahead of Kokura Kravitz.
After an early preliminary call came in saying that Kokura Kravitz had secured victory along with Salavantis, the crowd of about 40-50 friends and family members broke into cheers, as Kokura Kravitz was embraced by her husband Nick, and her children.
Kokura Kravitz’s campaign manager, Pat Brier, referred to her and her husband as “the hardest-working couple” he had worked with in his years running campaigns.
Kokura Kravitz gave a brief speech thanking her family and the voters.
“I am grateful beyond words for the people in this room,” she said. “You don’t accomplish anything by being alone, and you don’t accomplish anything by being lazy.”
The room seemed certain that she had clinched her seat, but as more precincts began to report in, Toohil began to erase the deficit. As Kokura Kravitz was interviewed about her win, an update showed Toohil pushing ahead by about 900 votes, a lead that continued to grow as more and more precincts reported.
The mood in the fire hall went from jubilant to nearly silent as people began to realize what was happening. By about 11:30 p.m., with 180 out of 186 precincts reporting and Toohil with a 3,000-plus vote lead, the hose company had emptied of most of the crowd, with TV reports showing Toohil’s lead.
There were also six sitting county Court of Common Pleas judges seeking retention, and all were retained.
These judges are: Lesa S. Gelb, Richard M. Hughes III, Fred A. Pierantoni, Jennifer L. Rogers, Joseph F. Sklarosky Jr. and Michael T. Vough.
Salavantis represented the people of Luzerne County as District Attorney from 2012 until this spring, when she resigned the post to run for judge.
“It’s been an honor to work for nine-plus years with our communities and law enforcement to protect the people of Luzerne County,” Salavantis said. “I decided I wanted to continue serving the public and when a seat on the county bench opened up, I thought long and hard, discussed it with my husband and made the decision to get in the race.”
Salavantis said that family court will be the assignment for the two new county judges and she said she would welcome that position.
“I have a lot of experience in family court matters,” Salavantis said. “I’ve seen cases from all angles and I feel I can really be an asset in family court.”
The former DA said she would be fair and impartial and she has the temperament to handle the emotional issues that arise in difficult cases.
Salavantis said she has worked with families of victims and, at times, she has met with families of defendants to help them get through extremely difficult times.
“The work I accomplished on behalf of families and victims is my biggest accomplishment,” she said.
Salavantis said she worked hard to get Kevin’s Law enacted, named after five-year-old Kevin Miller who was killed in a hit-and-run crash in Luzerne County. Passed in 2014, it requires a mandatory three-year prison term for at-fault drivers who flee the scene of fatal crashes in Pennsylvania.
“When I was elected, I wanted to change the look of the district attorney’s office. I got more involved in the community by talking to children, students, the elderly, to do all we could to improve the system.
“And now I feel I can do far more for the community by sitting on the bench.”
Toohil was elected to the State Legislature in 2011 and took office in 2012, representing the 116th Legislative District. She said that despite people in her constituency being somewhat saddened by her decision to seek a seat on the county bench, being a judge has always been her career goal.
“I feel with my abilities and experience, I will be a very good judge,” she said. “I’m a listener and a writer and non-prejudicial. And I feel I have the right temperament for this position.
“It would be amazing to be able to work in family court,” Toohil said. “Family is most important and I would always approach it as your family being as important as my own family. I understand the issues and emotion found in family court cases.”
Toohil noted that civil court comes down to family issues as well. However, she said she is confident that she could handle any assignment she receives,
“I’m a hard worker,” she said. “I’m prepared for whatever I’m asked to do.”
Reach Bill O’Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.
