Grimes ready for duty as Greene County’s next judge
A day after he was elected the next judge of Greene County, Jeff Grimes was out driving around the area on a sunny Wednesday afternoon picking up his campaign signs from the roadside.
Grimes was especially grateful for getting a little help from his father, H. Terry Grimes, who once held a seat on the bench in Greene County that his son will now ascend to in January. Terry Grimes served as judge for 23 years before retiring in 2009.
“He’s the one pushing that. Of course, he lived that process and that job,” Jeff Grimes said of his father during a phone interview while they were in Mt. Morris. “Picking up signs the next day with him is a little surreal. It’s a neat thing, and I relish these moments. My family’s support has been fantastic.”
Grimes was practically guaranteed to win Tuesday’s general election after securing both the Democratic and Republican nominations in the May primary over his opponent Kimberly Pratt. But Grimes still didn’t take the election for granted and continued to campaign this year to earn support from voters.
“We needed to cross the finish line and it was a bit of a formality,” Grimes said. “But at the same time it’s not done until it’s done, so it feels good to get through with (the election Tuesday) and still get a strong vote.”
Grimes wondered if this day would ever come as he nearly won the seat for Greene County judge in 2015, only to fall short by just 86 votes to Lou Dayich, who is currently serving as president judge. Now the two of them will be working alongside each other and trying to get the courthouse back on track following a year of turmoil when the COVID-19 pandemic delayed cases and former president judge Farley Toothman resigned after being accused of judicial misconduct.
“I think they are looking forward to it,” Grimes said of the courthouse staff. “They’ve had great support from the state with the senior judges, but there’s nothing like having an elected county judge there all day and every day instead of judges rotating out.”
Grimes will be sworn-in Jan. 3 and then will have to go to judicial school later in the month before beginning his official duties. He’s looking forward to “jumping in” and finding his new place in the courthouse on the bench, although he’ll miss his time as a local attorney. After picking up signs all day Wednesday, Grimes planned to be back in his law office Thursday morning wrapping up his private practice’s legal work.
“It’s somewhat bittersweet because I do enjoy what I do,” Grimes said. “Certainly, the May (primary) results gave me a headstart in tying up some loose ends and finishing projects, and there are several I still need to finish before January.”
Just as Grimes ran unopposed after winning nominations in May, so, too, did Sheriff Marcus Simms and Coroner Gene Rush, both of whom easily cruised to victories.
But some school board and municipal government races remain in flux as the Greene County elections office began counting mail-in ballots Wednesday afternoon.
Elections Director Judy Snyder said they still must count 1,735 mail-in ballots – including 52 that arrived Tuesday – that she expects to be completed by Friday. The large number of outstanding votes could change several close local races.
For example, Democrat Walter S. Stout leads Republican Thomas Ayres by just seven votes in the race for Washington Township supervisor, while Democrat James M. Sokol also leads Republican Jeff Hathaway by seven votes for the supervisors race in Cumberland Township.
Snyder said the county’s election board will hold its first signing to certify the results on Nov. 15, and then will hold its second signing Nov. 22 before sending the certified election results to the state.