Office: Painesville Municipal Court
Age: 47
Residence: Concord Township, OH
Email: pmalchesky@csalawgroup.com
Website: http://www.MalcheskyforJudge.com/
https://www.facebook.com/electmalchesky
Occupation: Attorney
Education: J.D. from Cleveland Marshall College of Law
Work Experience: Litigation in both Criminal and Civil Law since 1997, represent several government and non-profit organizations. Elected Concord Township Trustee since 2005, President of Lake County Bar Assoc. 2018-2019, Morley Library Trustee, Member of St. Gabriel’s Church
Family: Married with two children
Affiliations: will be listed on website and facebook
(1) List your judicial experience (courts and years):
Painesville Municipal Court Acting Judge appointed by Judge Mike Cicconetti 2004-2019 Law Clerk for Judge Robert Grogan, Lyndhurst Municipal Court 1995-1997
(2) What about your non-judicial legal experience qualifies you to be a judge?
I am the managing partner of my firm Cannon, Aveni, & Malchesky Co., LPA, and, over the years, I have been appointed as a special prosecutor for the City of Mentor, and the villages of Fairport Harbor and Perry. I have also been appointed by Lake County Judges in various Lake County courts to ensure validity of one’s trial rights. I serve as legal counsel for LAKETRAN Regional Transit Authority, Harpersfield Township, and Lake-Geauga Recovery Centers. I was elected by my peers to serve as the Lake County Bar Association President for 2018-2019, and the Lake County Commissioners have appointed me to two terms on the Morley Library Board of Trustees, first in 2013 and again in 2019. In 2005, I was elected to be a Trustee of Concord Township, and voters have re-elected me three times. I am the founding and current Chair of the Lake County East Council of Governments, an alliance of 11 eastern Lake County communities that we created to help their fire departments work together more efficiently and purchase new, updated equipment. I have been a trial attorney in Painesville, representing Lake County residents, for 22 years, and because of what I learned from Judge Grogan, and later from Judge Cicconetti, I have made municipal courts a focus of my work. The job all this work has led up to is the one I have been preparing for all my life: Painesville Municipal Court Judge.
(3) Why are you running for this particular court seat?
Fifteen years ago, Painesville Municipal Court Judge Michael A. Cicconetti did me the honor of appointing me to serve as Acting Municipal Judge and preside over the court his stead when he was unavailable. With Judge Cicconetti retiring from the bench, I am running to succeed him as Painesville Municipal Court Judge. There are a lot of factors that go into deciding to run for public office. Here are three of mine: I HAVE BEEN PREPARING FOR THIS POSITION MY ENTIRE LIFE. As a kid, I spent a lot of time watching my grandfather, Judge Richard A. Hoose, preside over the Willoughby Municipal Court and the Lake County Juvenile Court, and I have always been inspired by his example and by his commitment to the law and to serving the residents of Lake County. I went to Cleveland State as an undergrad and decided to follow my grandfather into the law, taking night classes at Cleveland State’s Marshall College of Law. During the day, I clerked for Judge Robert J. Grogan at the Lyndhurst Municipal Court, and I learned first-hand the unique role municipal courts play in our judicial system. Municipal courts are where the law has the most direct impact on people’s day-to-day lives. Compared to multi-million dollar lawsuits that grab headlines, municipal court cases may seem small. But to the people involved in them, they can be life-changing. I have been a trial attorney in Painesville for 22 years, representing Lake County residents on all kinds of cases. Because of what I learned from Judge Grogan, and later from Judge Cicconetti, I have made municipal courts a focus of my work. I’m the managing partner of my firm Cannon, Aveni, & Malchesky Co., LPA. Our office is located right next door to the Juvenile Court where my grandfather used to preside. Over the years, I have been appointed as a special prosecutor for the City of Mentor, and the villages of Fairport Harbor and Perry. I have also been appointed by Lake County Judges in various Lake County courts to ensure validity of one’s trial rights. I serve as legal counsel for LAKETRAN Regional Transit Authority, Harpersfield Township, and Lake-Geauga Recovery Centers. In 2006, Judge Paul H. Mitrovich appointed me Grand Jury Foreman for Lake County Court of Common Pleas. For 12 years I served on the Lake County Bar Association’s Grievance Committee, which helps hold local attorneys to the highest standard of professional behavior. The 450 members of the Lake County Bar Association elected me their President for the 2018-2019 term. For the last 15 years, I have had the honor of watching and learning from Judge Cicconetti. He chose me to serve Acting Judge of the Painesville Municipal Court during these years. It has been an enormous honor and a solid apprenticeship. I AM COMMITTED TO SERVING THE RESIDENTS OF LAKE COUNTY. Lake County is my home. My family goes back three generations in eastern Lake County. I live with my wife, Dr. Betty Jo Malchesky, Assistant Superintendent of the Perry Local School District, and our children in the same neighborhood where I grew up, the same neighborhood where I learned the importance of serving my community. My family and I are members of the St. Gabriel parish, and I served on the Lake Catholic Advisory Board from 2007-2015 and former Riverside High School Mock Trial Advisor (State Qualifier) . I am a member of the Lake Catholic Gridiron club and coach CYO basketball. In 2005, I was elected to be a Trustee of Concord Township, and voters have re-elected me three times. As Concord Township Trustee, I help oversee the administration of a local government with an annual budget of 3 million. I am the founding and current Chair of the Lake County East Council of Governments, an alliance of thirteen eastern Lake County communities that we created to help their fire departments work together more efficiently and purchase new, updated equipment. And — I spearheaded an effort to make our neighborhoods safer by negotiating contracted road patrols with the Sheriff’s Office for expanded police presence on our streets. I have a significant record of keeping our neighborhoods safe. The Lake County Commissioners have appointed me to two terms on the Morley Library Board of Trustees, first in 2013 and again in 2019. I CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE. Under Judge Cicconetti, the Painesville Municipal Court has become one of the most efficient courts in the State of Ohio, and Judge Cicconetti’s creative sentencing has attracted national attention. Creative sentencing reduces future offenders. I will work to ensure effective aspects of this court continue. I am the candidate with the judicial temperament and character to serve the public with patience, open-mindedness, punctuality, firmness, compassion, and common sense. And I will continue to build on the cooperative partnerships I have established with the Lake County Sheriff’s office, the police departments of Painesville, Madison Township, Madison Village, Grand River, Fairport Harbor, Perry, and North Perry, and the officials of their respective local governments. Most importantly, I will continue to keep our neighborhoods safe. As Painesville Municipal Court Judge, I want to create a program to mediate common pleas civil cases that originate in the Court’s jurisdiction. Civil litigation is costly to all parties, and I believe we can do more to help residents mediate their cases at the municipal level when presiding common pleas court judges may have a conflict.