Boyd, Nevius to face off for Berks judge seat

James, Chieffo will compete for district justice race

Two attorneys will battle it out in November for an open seat on the Berks County Court of Common Pleas.

Four candidates were on the ballot in the May 16 primary election, with one Democrat and one Republican coming out on top in their respective primaries, setting up a showdown in the general election.

Tina Boyd, 45, of Oley, won the Democratic primary with 6,743 votes. Kelly Kline, 43, of Exeter, finished second with 5,334 votes. Michael J. Cammarano Sr., 68, of Spring Township, finished third with 2,900 votes. Ben Nevius, 37, of Oley, trailed with 1,389 votes.

Nevius won the GOP nomination with 6,590 votes. Finishing second was Boyd with 5,550 votes. Third-place went to Kline with 2,645 votes. Cammarano finished with 2,985 votes.

All four candidates cross-filed in both the Democratic and Republican primaries. Boyd, Kline and Cammarano are registered Democrats. Nevius was the only registered Republican on the ballot.

Judges serve 10-year terms, after which they can seek a “yes-no” retention vote for another 10year term. The current annual salary for county judges is $178,868.

There were also a contested race for district justice seats in Berks County.

District 23-3-3

For District 23-3-3, based in Oley, there will be a contest in November to decide the next district judge. Four candidates — Matthew James, Steven Chieffo, Daniel VanBilliard and David G. Krott — were running for an open seat to be vacated by District Judge Victor M. Frederick IV, who is not seeking re-election.

James won the Democratic primary and Chieffo won the Republican primary, setting up a contest in the general election.

In the Democratic primary, James, 44, of Ruscombmanor, was the top vote-getter with 649 votes, followed by Chieffo, 46, of Amity, with 473 votes, VanBilliard, 47, of Longswamp, with 324 votes and Krott, 62, of Alsace, with 207 votes.

In the Republican primary, Chieffo won with 942 votes, followed by James with 484 votes, VanBilliard with 402 votes and Krott with 273 votes.

The district includes Alsace, Amity, District, Longswamp, Oley, Pike, Rockland and Ruscombmanor townships and Topton borough.

District justices serve for six years and are currently paid $89,438 annually.