Times Leader: Plains attorney joins county judge race

2/7/09 -Tina Polachek Gartley cites her experience as assistant D.A. and with justice center.

BILL O ’ BOYLE boboyle@timesleader.com

WILKES-BARRE – Tina Polachek Gartley said her decision to run for judge was based on several factors, but one was very clear and compelling to her.

“The times,” she said after announcing her candidacy in the rotunda of the Luzerne County Courthouse Friday night. “I’ve been watching what has been going on in our county and I decided I wanted to bring a new voice to the bench.”

Gartley, 42, of Plains Township, was surrounded by her family and about 200 supporters who braved the cold to hear her announcement. She is seeking one of three, and possibly four, openings on the county Court of Common Pleas. A Democrat, she intends to cross-file. “This is more than a campaign and more than an election,” Gartley said. “We are all here because we believe so strongly in what this magnificent building stands for – justice. Justice not only for the wealthy or the politically connected, but justice for the working man and the working woman; justice for our senior citizens; and yes, justice for our young. In a phrase, justice for all.”

Gartley said she grew up in a close-knit Polish family in Wilkes-Barre Township, where honesty, integrity, morality, humility, fairness and compassion were a way of life and not simply campaign slogans.

“They were expectations,” she said.

Gartley said she wanted to make a few things clear about the approaching campaign.

“All of us running for judge will travel around Luzerne County making profound statements promising to provide victims with the justice they so dearly deserve,” she said. “But too many times, after the election is over, and the cameras and the microphones are off, those promises fade and the silence on victims’ issues and injustices in society becomes deafening. For me, the promise will never fade.”

Gartley has been practicing law since 1991 with a focus on protecting the rights of survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence. She was previously a county assistant district attorney and is employed as the senior attorney at the Barbara J. Hart Justice Center in Scranton. She also is affiliated with the Kingston firm of Koff, Mangan, Vullo, Gartley and Lach.

Gartley and her husband, attorney Scott Gartley, have three sons, Shamus, Joshua and Ian.

Photo Credit: Fred Adams/Times Leader