Cook Township attorney Mark Hamilton announced he will be a candidate for the district judge seat in Ligonier.

Hamilton, 68, has worked as a lawyer for more than four decades and serves a partner with Summers, McDonnell, Hudock, Guthrie and Rauch in Pittsburgh. He also has served as solicitor for several townships in Westmoreland County.

“All of the most rewarding stuff I’ve done is stuff I’ve done for people who needed it. I want to provide a community service to where I call home with a trusted, experienced expertise,” Hamilton said.

He received an undergraduate degree from Duke University and a law degree from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law.

Hamilton is a Republican who said he will cross-file and run in the GOP and Democratic primaries this spring.

He joins two other candidates who have announced their bids to run for the district judge seat that is currently held by Judge Denise Snyder Thiel, who is retiring at the end of 2023.

Thiel’s daughter, attorney Allison Thiel, and Ligonier police officer Shawn Knepper also are seeking the post.

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