Write-In Candidate For Butler County Judge Claims Opponent Hasn't Been In Court For More Than 10 Years
BUTLER COUNTY (KDKA) -- A judge in Butler County is mounting a strong write-in campaign, claiming her opponent has not been in court in more than 10 years.
Republican Jennifer Gilliland Vanasdale of Cranberry lost the Democratic nomination for judge in Butler County by six votes.
Her fellow Republican William Wink Robinson won both nominations, leaving voters without a choice in the November general election.
Until now.
"William Wink Robinson is the only name that will appear on the ballot and then underneath that, there will be an option to do a write-in," Vanasdale told KDKA political editor Jon Delano. "And I am the candidate running against him as a write-in candidate."
Vanasdale says she's a trial attorney with 18 years of courtroom experience.
"I've tried a lot of cases inside the Butler County Courthouse," Vanasdale said. "I've tried cases in front of all of the judges of Butler County."
But Vanasdale says Robinson has no such experience.
Playing off her opponent's nickname of "Wink," Vanasdale is warning Butler County voters not to be "hoodwinked" by Robinson in both her ads and lawn signs.
"He ran a campaign, in his own words, that in the courtroom experience matters," Vanasdale said. "And we really all were hoodwinked because he doesn't have courtroom experience. He has not tried a case inside the Butler County Courthouse for over 10 years. And when we dig deeper, we see that for over 30 years he has only ever tried one case."
KDKA reached out to Robinson twice to respond, but he declined the opportunity.
So here's the problem for write-in candidate Jennifer Gilliland Vanasdale.
Her name is a lot of letters to write on a ballot.
So she got permission from the elections department for voters to write in "Jen GV."
Vanasdale thinks new paper ballots in Butler County will make it easier to write in "Jen GV" because everyone will have a writing instrument when they go to vote.
"I think people are excited with the new system and that they will have their pen in hand, and they know that they are going to make a difference with their vote," Vanasdale said.
Voters will cast their ballots next Tuesday, November 5.
