{"id":22868,"date":"2017-10-18T13:52:33","date_gmt":"2017-10-18T17:52:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/chescotimes.com\/?p=22868"},"modified":"2017-10-18T13:52:35","modified_gmt":"2017-10-18T17:52:35","slug":"strong-passions-pro-and-con-surround-donzes-run-for-district-justice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/?p=22868","title":{"rendered":"Strong passions \u2014 pro and con \u2014 surround Donze’s run for District Justice"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Mike McGann<\/strong>, Editor, the Times<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Jane Donze<\/p><\/div>\n

Jane Donze suggests that she isn\u2019t entirely sure why she seems to invoke deep passion \u2014 both positive and negative \u2014 in her run for District Justice in 15-3-04, the Unionville and Kennett areas, but since the primary, she\u2019s been both the recipient of enthusiastic support across the political spectrum as well as the target of criticism \u2014 again, across the political spectrum.<\/span><\/p>\n

While some of it may spring from a bruising Republican primary \u2014 one of her primary opponents, Sean Rafferty, said he was so offended by her alleged conduct this past spring that he is currently supporting Democrat Al Iacocca in the race \u2014 some local political observers here have cast her in the mold of a local version of Hillary Clinton, another polarizing political figure, noting that those who know her well, like her, and many of those who do not know her as well or some she has rubbed the wrong way, dislike her.<\/span><\/p>\n

As a result of one of the more contentious District Justice races in the county in recent memory, public views of her, positive and negative, seem to have hardened in recent weeks \u2014 although Donze said she feels her critics are a minority of those in the community.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI think we\u2019re living in a very politically divisive world right now,\u201d she said. \u201cI have support from Democrats, independents and Republicans. I\u2019m not really sure about all of the divisiveness, where it pertains to me. I know I\u2019ve knocked on 4,000 doors and I\u2019ve had a lot of different conversations with people. I believe, one of my opponents in particular in the Republican primary was not happy with me \u2014 he lost. I feel that the voters had an opportunity to review my credentials and baed on my body of work in the community, and as an attorney I got 42% of the vote in the Republican primary and came in second in the Democratic primary.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Although there has been much finger pointing \u2014 largely by those who oppose her, such a Rafferty \u2014 she made it clear that she\u2019s not interested in talking about those claims, specifically declining to engage on any of them, but instead said she is focusing on her community involvement and lengthy legal experience. True, too, others who know her well, describe her as a \u201cstraight shooter\u201d who often says what others are thinking but are too afraid to say themselves, which she admits can rub people the wrong way.<\/span><\/p>\n

The result is a complicated image of a woman \u2014 a long-time East Marlborough resident, mother of two Unionville High School grads, a volunteer with various local civic organizations, and the co-owner of a Willowdale law practice (with her husband George) for nearly two decades \u2014 she\u2019s outspoken, passionate and deeply convinced that she\u2019s the best choice to be the area\u2019s next District Justice.<\/span><\/p>\n

Although a novice when it comes to politics, she feels her experience in the legal profession makes her the best choice.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve never been in a political race before,\u201d she said. \u201cSo, this is all new territory for me. I believe this is an incredibly important job. I know that because I\u2019ve handled thousands of cases in district courts in six different counties. My business has been largely Chester County but I\u2019ve been hired to do work in six surrounding counties. I have seen people\u2019s live change as a result of what happens in that small court. So, I believe it\u2019s a very, very important job.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The District Justice, she notes, can make all the difference, how he or she runs a courtroom, dispenses justice and works in the community.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI have seen judges who do it well and I\u2019ve seen judges who do not do it well,\u201d she said. \u201cIt can have a profound impact on the individuals involved and the community as a whole.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

She speaks with clarity about what type of District Justice she hopes to be.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI believe the job requires the judge to apply the law to the facts,\u201d she said. \u201cYou need to keep your personal bias out of it. because when you bring that into the courtroom, you have three lawyers in the courtroom instead of two. The judge then becomes the third lawyer. At the end of the day, there\u2019s two sides to every story, so you need to listen to the facts, take the law and apply it to those facts.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

While she touts her community involvement \u2014 but acknowledges her opponent also is deeply involved in the community \u2014 she focuses on her extensive legal experience, which she cites as being far superior and crucial to being a good District Justice.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI think people can look at my body of work, as an attorney, who has practiced for 30 years,\u201d she said, \u201cmy involvement with non-profits, having raised my children in the Unionville-Chadds Ford School District, having owned a business for 20 years in the Unionville\/Kennett Square area, I think that speaks to who I am and that\u2019s up to the voters to decide.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Her record stands for itself, she said, noting her involvement with groups such as The Garage, and that she has long focused on the young people of the area, citing her nearly 25 years of focus on juvenile law in her practice.<\/span><\/p>\n

Donze has served on a volunteer basis with a number of local organizations, including on the board of the Domestic Abuse Project, where she worked to help victims of – and prevent – domestic and child abuse. She is a current member of the East Marlborough Township Planning Commission<\/span><\/p>\n

She also volunteers with like La Comunidad Hispana, the Garage in Kennett Square – which helps at-risk youth – and is a board member of the Chester County Art Association. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

She has also donated her time to the Southern Chester County Chamber of Commerce, the Chester County Bar Association, Unionville Recreation Association Baseball among other organizations in the area.<\/span><\/p>\n

A graduate of Boston University and the Widener School of Law, she is admitted to practice law before the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, the Unites States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, and the United States Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit. \u00a0She is a Certified Mediator and an appointed Arbitrator in both Chester and Delaware County Courts of Common Pleas.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Mike McGann, Editor, the Times Jane Donze suggests that she isn\u2019t entirely sure why she seems to invoke deep passion \u2014 both positive and negative \u2014 in her run for District Justice in 15-3-04, the Unionville and Kennett areas, but since the primary, she\u2019s been both the recipient of enthusiastic support across the political […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22870,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[5044,8239,6269,8464],"class_list":["post-22868","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-district-justice","tag-election-2017","tag-featured","tag-jane-donze"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22868","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=22868"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22868\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22869,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22868\/revisions\/22869"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/22870"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=22868"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=22868"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=22868"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}