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GOP banquet hears from justice candidate, treasurer

Kevin Brobson, Republican state Supreme Court justice candidate and current chief justice on the Commonwealth Court, who grew up in Montoursville, prepares for a stump speech Saturday night at the Lycoming County GOP banquet. MARK MARONEY/ Sun-Gazette

Delivering justice with impartiality and making decisions based on the law, not politics.

That was a promise made by Pennsylvania Supreme Court justice candidate Kevin Brobson at the Lycoming County Republican banquet on Saturday night.

Brobson, who grew up in Montoursville, and state Treasurer Stacy Garrity, of Athens, Bradford County, who was elected last year and not in an active race this election, called for support of GOP candidates as voters head to the polls for the general election on Nov. 2.

Vincent Matteo, county Republican Party chairman, reminded those gathered at Eldred Township Fire Hall that, despite believing they may have an edge, to not go into the election with ease and to turn out next Tuesday.

Brobson, of Dauphin County, is in race to become a justice in the state’s highest court. He told the large gathering at the fire department social hall that in his campaign covering all 67 counties, he has learned voters do not want judges who are political but are fair and impartial.

“They want judges to follow the law, to protect their Constitutional rights and to make sure the government follows the law,” Brobson said.

“I don’t wear blue. I don’t wear red. I wear black, and there’s a reason for that.”

He referenced a major publication not endorsing him because of decisions he issued the editorial board did not agree with, specifically with regard to gun rights and decisions dealing with last year’s election.

“I’m fine with that because that’s my record, and I live with and I stand by my record,” he said.

Brobson has ruled in favor of gun rights, school choice and, perhaps most notably, the validity of constitutional challenges to congressional districts drawn by the state legislature.

“Judges make decisions that affect everybody’s lives,” Brobson said. “I ruled on decisions about how we educate our children, how we care for our elderly, how we protect our historic and natural resources and, yes, how we elect our public officials.”

He said he is accountable for every single one of those issues he ruled on, whether they are liked or not

Brobson said he would not be a judge that ruled the “way the winds were blowing.”

The son of a retired Pennsylvania State Trooper and Air Force veteran and grandson of a former Philadelphia Police Officer, Brobson’s mother worked at the Little League Baseball’s National headquarters in Williamsport.

Since 2010, Brobson has served as a judge on the Commonwealth Court, a statewide intermediate appellate court one step below the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.

Brobson and his wife, Lauren, are raising their three children in a rural community just outside of Harrisburg.

Garrity, meanwhile, hails from Bradford County and has 30 years of service in the Army Reserves.

In 2020, she became the first Republican in two decades to win this statewide office.

She asked for support at the polls for Brobson, state Superior Court candidate Megan Sullivan and Commonwealth Court candidates Drew Crompton and Stacy Wallace.

Garrity touched on some of the work she’s been doing in the last nine months such on unclaimed property, upgrading the system for the first time in 15 years. The state has more than $4 billion in unclaimed property, she said.

She also said her favorite part of being treasurer is returning military decorations.

Other guests at the banquet included Williamsport City Council GOP candidates — Randall J. Allison, incumbent city council president, and Eric Beiter, former mayoral candidate and general manager of Beiter’s, a family-owned, home furnishing store.

Also in attendance was U.S. Rep. Fred Keller, of Kreamer, and state Sen. Gene Yaw of Loyalsock Township who discussed energy policy affecting residents.

The polls are open at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m. Nov. 2.

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