Published: May 20, 2009 01:09 am      

Judge field narrows

Kiniry, Jubas in; GOP side very close

EBENSBURG — With all 165 precincts reporting Tuesday night, District Attorney Patrick Kiniry captured the Democratic and Republican nominations for the Cambria County Court of Common Pleas, where two judgeships are up for election this year.

Ebensburg lawyer Gary Jubas, one of Kiniry’s assistant prosecutors, captured the second Democratic nomination.

But the race for the second GOP nomination was very tight, with the two lawyers running neck and neck.

Linda Rovder Fleming, who lives and has an office in Richland Township, held a slim 21-vote lead over Johnstown lawyer Margaret O’Malley.

More than 600 absentee ballots remain to be counted, which could alter the outcome.

On the Democratic ballot, Kiniry rolled up 7,830 votes, or 24 percent, while Jubas has 6,902, or 21 percent. Trailing in the field were O’Malley with 5,720, or 18 percent; Fleming with 5,213, 16 percent; Timothy Burns, 3,618, 11 percent; and David Beyer, 3,272, 10 percent.

On the Republican ballot, the votes were as follows: Kiniry, 3,522, 24 percent; Fleming, 2,863, 19.7 percent; O’Malley, 2,842, 19.6 percent; Jubas, 2,243, 15 percent; Beyer, 1,571, 11 percent; and Burns, 1,433, 10 percent.

Kiniry, surrounded by family and friends at the Solomon Run fire hall, said he was honored by the voters’ support.

“We put in a lot of effort and stressed my record as a prosecutor and a private attorney. I think they (voters) look at the experience factor, and the experience factor won,” he said.

Kiniry, who was a part-time county prosecutor for more than 30 years, has been district attorney since 2005, initially serving the unexpired term of David Tulowitzki, who was elected a county judge. Kiniry then went on to win a full four-year term last year.

As a prosecutor, he has handled dozens of high-profile cases, including the trials of two-time killer Larry Christy, serial rapist Jeffery Hoffman and Nathan Fortson, who abducted and killed a Cambria Township widow.

Prior to becoming the full-time DA, Kiniry had a private law practice that included serving as Richland Township’s solicitor for 25 years.

Jubas has been a part-time assistant district attorney for 17 years, beginning after he served as law clerk for the late Judge Eugene Creany. He, too, has handled a number of high-profile trials, including serving on the prosecution teams in the trials of Rickie Gaddis, a notorious child abuser from Johnstown, and Mark Leach, a convicted cop killer. His law office is in Ebensburg, and he is solicitor for Northern Cambria School Board and the volunteer solicitor for Nicktown Fire Company.

Fleming is a partner in the Johnstown law firm of Ayres, Ayres & Fleming.

She has practiced law for 21 years, most of that time specializing in family law issues. Fleming is one of six lawyers in the county trained in collaborative law, designed to help divorcing families avoid litigation. She also is a former assistant public defender for Cambria County.

Though Kiniry topped both ballots, he still conceivably could lose in November.

O’Malley has been a lawyer for 25 years in the law firm of Yost & O’Malley, where she worked closely for many years with her late father, attorney James O’Malley. She is certified by the federal courts as a mediator to help settle complex legal cases to avoid costly trials.

Burns formerly was a law clerk for Judges Thoms Swope and James DiFrancesco and worked briefly at a Johnstown law office before he opened his own law firm in Ebensburg. His most high profile case involved the eight-month legal battle to save the historic Roxbury Park Bandshell from demolition by the City of Johnstown.

Beyer, whose law office also is in Ebensburg, was a domestic relations hearing officer for the county, sitting as a master to make recommendations to a county judge on how to resolve divorce and custody issues.