I was raised by a divorced single mother, strong willed, hot tempered at times but always a passionate, hardworking, old school Italian woman.
I was taught to respect my elders, the law, elected officials and the government they served. My mother worked for attorney Harry Klide who was elected Canton City law director and later judge.
I became involved in campaigns from a very early age and always believed I was doing my little part to help our society in doing so. As I look back now, probably followed in Mom’s footsteps.
Years later, my good friend Tom Harmon said he was going to run for clerk of court, at the time I wasn’t sure what that was but jumped in with both feet to help and learn more; we were 28 years old. He won and we were off to a life of service.
Tom strongly believed we were there to serve the public, keep our budgets down for the taxpayers and make sure the defendants were treated with the same respect as their attorneys. They were all customers and we were public servants.