Moore takes another shot at North Huntingdon district judge's post

A North Huntingdon attorney who is the solicitor for the Westmoreland County Sheriff’s office is taking another shot at becoming a district judge.

Henry L. Moore, 61, is running in the May 16 primary for a six-year term as North Huntingdon district judge. The office is being vacated at the end of the year by Wayne Gongaware. Moore is seeking the nomination on the Republican and Democratic tickets.

Gongaware, 73, who beat Moore in the 2017 primary for the district judge’s seat, said he decided not to run for re-election. The state Senate appointed Gongaware to that position in July 2016, succeeding Douglas R. Weimer Jr., who had retired. Moore also sought that appointment from the state Senate.

If he wins election, Moore said he would ask Westmoreland County President Judge Christopher Feliciani and the state Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts for permission to hold evening hours at the office one or two nights a week. He said many people have complained it is difficult for them to go to the district judge’s office during the day to appear for hearings or for defendants to pay their fines.

Moore said he would bring his experience representing clients in civil matters and summary criminal cases.

“It is paramount that the magisterial district judge act efficiently, fairly and as the ‘go-between’ between the police and the rights of private citizens,” Moore said.

As solicitor for the county sheriff’s office, Moore is in charge of the department’s real estate division, overseeing and directing sheriff’s sales for the county. He previously was appointed by the county’s family court as a master in contested divorces, a position from which he retired in January 2020.

Moore, the brother of East Huntingdon District Judge Charles Moore, is a 1979 graduate of Southmoreland High School. He earned degrees in chemistry and engineering from the University of Pittsburgh and his law degree from Duquesne University in 1993.

Moore said he has represented the Westmoreland County Bar Association at local school districts, giving presentations warning of the dangers of drugs, alcohol, tobacco and bullying. He previously was the solicitor for the Westmoreland County Magisterial District Judges Association.