Appointment of new judge not a judicious move

At the Jan. 1 government reorganization meeting, I was quite surprised to notice the absence of Judge Leslie Tinkler, a 16-year appointed official of our township, from the dais. During the meeting, we came to find a new judge has been appointed who, lo and behold, is the wife of a partner in Sen. John Bennett’s law firm. (His firm was also appointed as bond counsel to the township; go figure.) The new judge’s credentials as a prosecutor may have been exemplary, but she was not sworn in as a judge until Jan. 5. She has yet to attend judges’ school, which begins in March. I believe this is a poor way to introduce a new judge to the system. You’d think an apprenticeship or period of training alongside a sitting judge would be appropriate before the wand is waved.

I observed Judge Tinkler in action on the bench during my 14 years in the township and found him to be a fair and impartial individual who was an asset to the community. Just knowing he was on the bench in Millstone Township made the local mischief makers and system offenders think twice about breaking the law. He was always fair in assessing fines, and was not out to try and make the court a huge money maker, like some speed-trap towns with their huge, new courtrooms, etc.

Three of the five so-called bi-partisan committeemen voted to oust Judge Tinkler (Bill Nurko and Charles Abate were against his removal) and, lo and behold, they voted in an inexperienced individual over other experienced candidates based on recommendations from Sen. Bennett. The "good old boy" network continues to thrive, and a claim of cost savings based on benefits seems like a diversion.

I agree with committeemen Nurko and Abate’s assessment: if it’s not broke, why fix it?

By the way, two weeks later the five committeemen passed an ethics ordinance.

John Nalberczinski

Millstone