WARREN – A former Ashtabula County judge is opposing a Cleveland attorney in the Democratic primary for the 14th District Congressional seat.

Attorney Michael Wager, who lost to incumbent U.S. Rep. David Joyce, R-Painesville, in the 2014 election, is again trying to win the Democratic nomination in the March 15 primary. His primary opponent is Alfred Mackey of Ashtabula, a retired Common Pleas judge who served on the Ashtabula County bench for 26 years.

The winner of the Democratic primary will face the winner of the contested Republican primary, either Joyce or Matt Lynch.

District 14 covers all of Lake, Geauga and Ashtabula counties and parts of Cuyahoga, Summit, Portage and the northern tier of townships in Trumbull County.

Mackey, a former county commissioner, first joined the court in 1989, and he retired at the end of his term on Feb. 8, 2015. State law prohibited him from re-election because of his age.

Mackey was arrested Jan. 14 on misdemeanor charges linked to “serial disruptive behavior” at the Ashtabula County Courthouse in Jefferson. The charges of obstructing official business, menacing, aggravated disorderly conduct and two counts of criminal trespassing were dismissed, according to the secretary for Ashtabula County Prosecutor Nicholas Iarocci.

Mackey, 74, who re-ceived his undergraduate degree from Hiram College in 1963 and his J.D. degree from the Case Western Reserve University School of Law in 1967, served with the U.S. Marine Corps in Vietnam from 1968 to 1971.

The former judge did not respond to Tribune Chronicle attempts to contact him for an interview. In calling Mackey’s cell phone, a message came back saying his voice mailbox was full. A call-back number was left on Mackey’s voice mail, but a call was not returned Thursday.

Wager, 64, an attorney for the Taft Stettinius & Hollister law firm in Cleveland, is also a member of the adjunct faculty for the political science department at Case Western Reserve University.

Wager, who lost to incumbent U.S. Rep. David Joyce in the 2014 general election, said integrity, consistency and clarity are virtues that people should expect from their congressman.

“If elected, my top priority is improving economic opportunity for the American middle class,” he said. “Most members of Congress’ top priority is re-election. They don’t address serious issues such as jobs and wages.”

Wages in America haven’t been matching the rate of inflation for 30 years, Wager said.

“Raising the minimum wage is a net job raiser,” he said.

“I am glad for that experience, but 2014 wasn’t a good year for Democrats,” Wager said. “We expect to do better this year.”

Wager and his wife, Peggy Gries Wager, are members of The Temple-Tifereth Israel in Beachwood. They have four daughters.

gvogrin@tribtoday.com