Fuller, Clark cite legal experience in race for Northampton County judge
In their campaigns for Northampton County judge, James Fuller and Jeremy Clark highlight their courtroom and legal experiences as reasons why voters should select them in Tuesday’s election.
Fuller, 41, of Northampton, has been an assistant district attorney in Monroe County for the last two years and before that an assistant county public defender for nearly seven.
Clark, 46, of Easton, who has a private practice in Easton, has represented clients in county, state and federal courts and has served as a special divorce master. He is also an assistant solicitor for the city.
Clark, a Democrat, won his party’s primary in May over Democrat Robert Eyer, the county’s first assistant district attorney, with 52.7% of the vote.
Fuller, a Republican, won the GOP nomination with 47.1% of the vote in a three-way contest, defeating Clark and Eyer. Although judicial candidates can appear on Democratic and Republican primary ballots, Fuller ran only in the Republican primary.
Clark vastly outspent Fuller in the fall campaign, $24,005 to $2,013, according to the most recent campaign finance reports that cover the period from June 10 to Oct. 20.
The two candidates are vying to be the ninth judge on the county Court of Common Pleas, filling a position to be vacated when Judge Anthony Beltrami retires after 20 years on the bench. The position carries a salary of $227,411 for 2025. The salary for 2026 will be set later this year, but judicial salaries typically include an annual cost-of-living increase.
James Fuller
Fuller grew up in Forks Township, graduated from Easton Area High School in 2002 and Penn State with a bachelor’s degree in political science in 2006. After college, he worked four years at KidsPeace, based in Orefield, monitoring juvenile offenders. He then attended Cooley Law School in Michigan, graduating in 2013. He and his wife, Krista, live in Northampton with their two sons. Fuller has coached the boys’ soccer, baseball and basketball teams.
He cites his experience as a prosecutor and public defender as qualifying him to be a county judge.
“I’m in court everyday,” Fuller wrote in an email response to questions. “I have done thousands of hearings as a prosecutor and as a public defender. I have done everything from DUIs to homicide. I handle every day what I believe is important to voters, such as people bringing fentanyl into communities and domestic violence. Aspects of the law are changing, such as sentencing guidelines, sanctions for probation violations and gun possession. These are all areas I work in every day that I believe my opponent is not familiar with.”
Fuller spent little or no money on his primary campaign, according to affidavits indicating he raised and spent less than $250. The $2,013 he spent on the general election campaign paid for candidate cards and signs, according to his campaign finance report filed with the state. The money, he said, came from what he and his wife “could spare.”
He declined to seek contributions “because as judge I feel it’s important to be free of any potential bias. I don’t want even the implication of bias,” he said.
During his campaign, Fuller delivered his message directly to voters while attending many community events in the county.
“I have talked to voters about everything, from growing up in Easton to what team is going to win the Super Bowl. I think voters want to see what kind of person is going to take the bench. Is it somebody who is going to respect and listen to people? I think just being able to have all kinds of different conversations with different types of people has been my best asset during the campaign,” he said.
“The one thing above all else that I want people to know about me is that I will respect and listen to everyone who appears before me. I understand that to the parties appearing in front of me their case is the most important case and I will treat every case as such. I will follow the law no matter what.”
Jeremy Clark
Clark, who will turn 47 on Friday, of Easton, grew up in central Pennsylvania and graduated from high school in 1997. He enlisted in the Army, received an ROTC scholarship and enrolled at the University of Delaware, graduating in 2001. He served in the Army for four years after that with the 82nd Airborne Division, making a total of three tours of duty in Afghanistan and Iraq, achieving the rank of captain.
He lived in Bethlehem and commuted to Villanova Law School. While in law school, Clark was a summer intern for state Superior Court Judge Jack Panella, a former Northampton County judge. After graduating in 2009, he spent a year as a clerk for Judge Beltrami.
After that he worked at a Bethlehem law firm, Harry Newman Associates, for about two years. In 2013, he started his solo practice in Easton. During that time, Clark also served as a special divorce master for nearly nine years and, since 2020, has also been assistant city solicitor for Easton.
He and his wife, Liz, live in her hometown of Easton. They have two daughters who are students at Easton Area High School.
In an email response to questions, Clark said candidates for judge, unlike candidates for other elected offices, cannot outline where they stand on issues.
“Voters must therefore consider a person’s temperament and experience. In that regard, I believe my résumé makes me the clear choice. I’ve had a wide-ranging legal career in both government and private practice,” he said.
He has participated in criminal jury, civil non-jury and custody trials. He has handled divorces, estate litigation and administration, and zoning issues for property owners and municipalities. He’s appeared in courts in Northampton, Lehigh and Monroe counties and handled appeals to the state Commonwealth and Superior courts. He’s been involved in federal court cases.
“In addition, my nearly 10 years as a divorce master gave me experience in a quasi-judicial role, where I presided over hearings and proved my ability to remain fair, calm and decisive. In short, I am the more experienced and qualified candidate.”
Like Fuller, Clark has campaigned by introducing himself to voters – going to more than 3,000 homes – and appearing at community events.
“I’ve spoken to Democrats, Republicans and independents about the importance of our local courts and choosing the best candidate for the job,” he said. “While it’s been a lot of work, I’ve truly enjoyed meeting so many amazing people across our county.”
He loaned his Committee to Elect Jeremy Clark $70,000 for the primary and on Sept. 10 he made a $30,000 loan for the general election campaign, bringing the total of his loans to $100,000.
“To be honest, I largely self-funded the campaign because I hate asking people for money. While my campaign has done some fundraising, I’ve always felt my time is better spent talking to voters than to donors,” he said. “I’ve been blessed with a successful career that has afforded me this ability.”
For the pre-election period from June 10 through Oct. 20, the Committee to Elect Jeremy Clark raised $58,558, which included the $30,000 loan, and spent $24,006.
Three-fourths of the $24,006 covered consulting services: $9,500 to Brandon Vanderburg, chairman of the Northampton County Black Caucus and a former Easton Area School Board member; and $8,500 to Frank Pintabone, an Easton City Council member. Other expenses went toward campaign materials and other related costs.
Major donors included $5,150 from lawyers with the Hof & Reid law firm in Bethlehem Township (Christoper Reid, Isaac Hof and Daniel Cohen $1,250 each, and Phil Hof, $1,400); $2,750 from Cohen, Feeley, Altemose & Rambo of Bethlehem (Mark Altemose, $1,500, Martin Cohen, $1,000 and Kelly Rambo-Willams, $250). Other Lehigh Valley lawyers who contributed $1,000 each were Robert J. Brasko, Theresa Hogan, David Ceraul, Alfred S. Pierce and Michael J. McCarski, $1,000. Jason Nottle of Easton, a project engineer with B. Braun Medical Inc., contributed $1,000.
Brandon Benner, a lawyer with the Bethlehem law firm of Benner, Trovat & Bender, and Garrett Benner, a lawyer with the Barrett Group real estate company in Bethlehem, each paid $1,000 for billboard advertising, an expense reported as an in-kind contribution.
Since beginning the campaign in January, Clark’s campaign committee raised a total of $156,285 and spent $113,742, leaving a balance of $42,843.