ENDORSEMENT ANNOUNCEMENT
The Ashtabula County AFL-CIO Central Labor Council recently announced its endorsement of Judge Albert S. Camplese for Ashtabula County Court of Common Pleas Judge.
The Central Labor Council reviewed Judge Camplese’s 33 years of judicial and community contributions before making its decision to endorse his candidacy.
Their letter states:
“The Ashtabula County AFL-CIO CLC … has chosen to endorse your candidacy for Ashtabula County Court of Common Pleas General Division, Ohio.”
“In order for our county to be great, it takes excellent leadership and commitment and your…responses indicate you are a good candidate to fill this position.”
“Congratulations on the endorsement and best of luck in your campaign.”
HONORED BY THE ENDORSEMENT
I am deeply honored to receive the endorsement of Ashtabula County AFL-CIO Central Labor Council, representing working men and women and their families from many different unions throughout our community.
There is a reason this endorsement means so much to me.
Working people understand consequences.
They understand that when our justice system doesn’t work, it isn’t an abstract problem. They see it in their neighborhoods. They see it in their children’s lives. They see it when problems are allowed to grow instead of being addressed.
And they understand something else:
When government chooses the easy answer instead of the right answer, working families ultimately pay the bill.
After 33 years on the bench, I have learned that being a judge is not about appearing tough. It is about exercising judgment.
Putting someone in jail is sometimes necessary. There are people who must be incarcerated to punish serious wrongdoing, protect the public and provide an incentive to change.
But jail is a tool—not a solution to every problem.
It is easy to measure a judge by the length of the sentence. It is harder—and far more important—to measure a judge by what happens afterward.
Did the decision make the community safer?
Did it hold the offender accountable?
Did it address the circumstances that contributed to the offense?
Did it reduce the likelihood that there will be another victim?
Those are the questions that matter.
Our communities deserve a justice system that is tough when it needs to be, but thoughtful all the time.
I am grateful for the support of the working men and women of our community. They know that good government—and good judging—is not about taking the easiest path.
It is about making the decisions that actually work.
After 33 years on the bench, that is the standard I will continue to hold myself to.
– Judge Camplese
