Retaining Ruest is an easy choice

Like many Pennsylvania voters, I throw up my hands when it’s time to vote for a judge. All promise to be fair, wise and honest — plus tough on crime — while administering equal justice under law. Voters are left to make difficult choices.

Next Tuesday, we’re faced with an easy choice.

Centre County voters will be asked if we should retain our president judge, Pamela A. Ruest, for another term on the bench.

Yes, we should.

For years, Judge Ruest has been actively involved with many groups that make Centre County a better place to live. These groups cover a wide swath of her personal and professional interests including the arts, children’s issues, education and public health. She’s served on the boards ranging from MidPenn Legal Services to the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts. Were I to list them alphabetically, they’d start with women’s service organization Altrusa and end with the legal society the Wilkinson-Campbell Chapter of the American Inns of Court.

Her community service helps her to know what’s going on in the community beyond the court. As much as we might like to think so, judges don’t live in a bubble. Judge Ruest understands what’s happening in the lives of the people who come before her and how her decisions affect them. We need informed jurists like her serving on our courts.

Judge Ruest’s election is the final question on the Centre County ballot. I like to think that someone was saving the best for last.

This story was originally published November 1, 2017 at 11:01 PM with the headline "Retaining Ruest is an easy choice."