Amy Salerno

This page was current at the end of the official's last term in office covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Amy Salerno

Prior offices

Franklin County Municipal Court

---

Report an officeholder change

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 5, 2019

Education

Bachelor's

Youngstown State University

Law

Moritz College of Law

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign Twitter

Amy Salerno was a judge of the Franklin County Municipal Court in Ohio. She left office in 2020.

Salerno ran for re-election for judge of the Franklin County Municipal Court in Ohio. She lost in the general election on November 5, 2019.

Salerno completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2019. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Amy Salerno was born in Ohio. Salerno earned a bachelor's degree from Youngstown State University and a J.D. from the Moritz College of Law.

Elections

2019

See also: Municipal elections in Franklin County, Ohio (2019)

General election

General election for Franklin County Municipal Court

Jessica D'Varga defeated incumbent Amy Salerno in the general election for Franklin County Municipal Court on November 5, 2019.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jessica D'Varga (Nonpartisan)	56.4	96,392
		Amy Salerno (Nonpartisan)	43.6	74,583

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source 1 Source 2	Total votes: 170,975
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Campaign themes

2019

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Amy Salerno completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2019. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Salerno's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I am an experienced judge who has served on the bench for nearly 15 years. I have also served as an Administrative Law Judge, Ohio state legislator, and have been a licensed practicing attorney for over 37 years. I am a wife and mother, breast cancer survivor and tireless community volunteer. I combine all of these roles and life experiences on a daily basis when presiding over matters in my courtroom. I am asking for your support and vote in the coming 2019 Franklin County General Election.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Experienced
• Tough
• Fair

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

People who know me know that I am a fighter for those who do not have a voice. As a cancer survivor, I know what it feels like to persevere through adversity. People who appear in my courtroom know that they will always be treated fairly and justly and will be offered the opportunity to avail themselves of the services offered in order to help them improve their lives. I want victims to be confident that their voice is being heard and I will continue to listen to them. I recognize it is vitally important for judges to be the impetus to help people improve their lives. It is essential to facilitate productive outcomes in order to reduce recidivism rates.

Being a judge is an extremely difficult job that I am uniquely qualified for given my cumulative years of experience on the bench, in the legislature, and in the private sector. I am determined to continue to dispense justice with integrity and resolute fairness. My lengthy and varied legal background as well as my years in public service and on the bench make me highly qualified to continue as a Judge in the Franklin County Municipal Court. Simply put, I want to continue to do the good work that I have been doing in order to make Franklin County a safer place in which to live and work.

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

One struggle in my life was my fight for survival after being diagnosed with breast cancer. Going through chemotherapy, surgery and radiation took strength, especially with two young daughters at home and a judicial career. I was raised in a lower middle class family with immigrant roots which provided me with a strong work ethic and resilience in the face of adversity. I bring all of my unique life, legal and professional struggles to the bench to serve the public.

Do you believe that empathy is an important quality for a judge?

Empathy is an absolute necessity for a judge. Understanding an individual's unique circumstances and life experiences are an important consideration when presiding over cases and crafting sentences which include treatment plans and other assistance which helps to reduce recidivism rates.

I possess a great amount of empathy and I truly love people. In my courtroom, everyone is treated as an individual with fairness and the utmost respect. Each sentence is tailored to the individual.

Why are you running for this particular court seat?

I am running for Judge of the Franklin County Municipal Court because I want to continue to serve this wonderful community. As a student of the Moritz College of Law at The Ohio State University, I developed strong ties to the City of Columbus and Franklin County. I have spent nearly all of my adult life in Franklin County and my husband and I chose to live, work, and raise our two daughters here.

I treat everyone in my court equally, fairly and with the utmost respect. I know that that my actions have helped people improve their lives and avoid recidivism. I love being a judge and being involved in public service.

I truly enjoy engaging with our citizens and community leaders because they provide invaluable information in reference to the improvement of our local government, economy and legal system. As a Judge, it is important to connect with people and find out what is really going on in their neighborhoods so that I can be of greater assistance to them. I was raised to give back and to help others. Community involvement and public service help me to achieve that objective.

Do you believe that it's beneficial for a judge to have previous experience in government or politics?

Possessing varied life, professional and legal experience is crucial to being a well-rounded judge. As a legislator I created laws. As a lawyer I represented people from all walks of life. As a Judge I interpret the law. Understanding government, public policy and private business helps to strengthen my abilities as a Judge.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

See also

2019 Elections

What's on the ballot? U.S. Congress special elections State executives State legislatures State courts Ballot measures Municipal government School boards Election analysis hub

Government

Who represents me? U.S. Congress State executives State legislators State courts Ballot measures Municipal government School boards

Newsletters

The Daily Brew The Weekly Brew The Ballot Bulletin Checks and Balances Economy and Society Hall Pass Number of the Day Robe & Gavel Union Station

External links

• Search Google News for this topic
• Campaign website
• Campaign Facebook page
• Campaign Twitter page

Footnotes

Ohio courts

---

Federal courts:

Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Northern District of Ohio, Southern District of Ohio • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Northern District of Ohio, Southern District of Ohio

State courts:

Ohio Supreme Court • Ohio District Courts of Appeal • Ohio Courts of Common Pleas • Ohio County Courts • Ohio Municipal Courts • Ohio Court of Claims

State resources:

Courts in Ohio • Ohio judicial elections • Judicial selection in Ohio