Cheryl Peck Yakopec hangs on in district judge race

The district judge seat in northwestern Westmoreland County will remain in the hands of Cheryl Peck Yakopec, unofficial election results from the Westmoreland County Election Bureau show.

With all precincts reporting at 10 p.m. Tuesday, Yakopec had 4,299 votes, or 52.81% of the vote, and Leslie Uncapher Zellers had 3,837 votes, or 47.13%.

Yakopec could not be reached for comment late Tuesday.

Incumbent Yakopec, 71, of Lower Burrell, has held the seat for 29 years. Before being elected judge, she worked as a public defender for Westmoreland County.

Yakopec has presided over 90,000 cases as a district judge, she said. During her campaign, she touted her experience, knowledge of the law and fairness and efficiency in the courtroom.

Yakopec supporters held a watch party at the Lower Burrell American Legion. Before results came in, Yakopec mingled with supporters and thanked them for their help throughout the campaign.

Zellers, 57, of Allegheny Township, is an attorney at Uncapher Uncapher & Fox in Vandergrift. She also works as a court-appointed attorney representing the interests of children and previously was a judicial law clerk in the county’s Court of Common Pleas. She started her career in the Westmoreland County District Attorney’s Office.

Zellers had said previously she had the experience, the qualifications and the judicial temperament to serve as judge.

Zellers backers watched results come in at Mogie’s Irish Pub in Lower Burrell. She thanked her supporters for their help throughout the campaign.

“I am so grateful that I won 53% of the in-person votes today and I thank all the voters who came out in person today to support me,” Zellers said. “I won 21 out of 26 precincts today. However, my opponent received 74% of the mail-in ballots. Unfortunately, the mail-in ballots were not representative of the results of in-person votes, and that concerns me. I thank all the voters of the district who believed in me and who came out to support me in the election today.”

She congratulated Yakopec on her win.

Both candidates cross-filed in the May primary. Yakopec won the Democratic nomination and Zellers won the Republican nomination.

The magisterial district that Yakopec hears cases for includes Lower Burrell, Upper Burrell, Allegheny Township, Vandergrift, Hyde Park, East Vandergrift, West Leechburg and Oklahoma Borough.