Matthew P. Puskarich

(1) List your judicial experience (courts and years)
I have served as the Harrison County Probate/Juvenile Court Judge from 2003 until the present and am seeking re-election. I am a Past President of the Ohio Association of Juvenile Court Judges (2014). I am an active member in the Ohio Association of Probate Judges. I have served on the Ohio Association of Juvenile Court Judges Board of Trustees for close to ten years. I serve on the Supreme Court of Ohio Committee on Family and Children, the sub-committee for Child Abuse, Neglect and Dependency, and the chairperson for the CHIPS workgroup. I am an instructor at the New Judges Training Seminars which is required for all new judges and sponsored by the Ohio Supreme Court. I serve on the Judicial Conference Juvenile Law and Procedure Committee, the Judicial Ethics and Professionalism Committee, and the Public Outreach Committee. I have served a term on the Financial Committee for the National Association of Juvenile Judges.

(2) What about your non-judicial legal experience qualifies you to be a judge?
I have the benefit of being raised and educated in Harrison County so I know the values, strengths and weakness of my home. I have raised and educated my own family here and have worked to make it a better place. My family has been very active in the community by sitting on various committees and boards ranging from our church to civic and school related activities. My wife and I have placed an emphasis on children by working with school booster groups to ensure that every child has the possibility to succeed. I have coached soccer for fourteen years in various capacities and have enjoyed working with the young men and women and seeing them develop their potential. Prior to taking the bench, I was the Harrison County Prosecuting Attorney for six years and was an Assistant Prosecuting Attorney in Jefferson County for five years prior to that. Those years taught me about the need to listen to all parties and to let the facts speak for themselves. I have been blessed to be able to back to my home county and serve.

(3) Why are you running for this particular court seat?
I am running to finish the job that my team has started in helping Harrison County Families and Children. Through the Administrative side, the Court has upgraded its computer capacity and is in the process of scanning all probate files into its system. We have an active website with forms and other pertinent information. The Court expects to be certified for a specialized docket in March; a Dependency Court. The Court is actively working to develop a CASA Program for Harrison County to provide GALS to families by the end of 2020. The Court has partnered with the local school system on many projects including working with the Mock Trial Team, Prom Promise, Mentoring, Speakers Corner, and the Alternative School. I am very proud of the work that the team has accomplished and I look forward to working with the team to accomplish even more during the next six years.