Nicole Ziccarelli announces bid for Westmoreland County district attorney

Fresh off a razor-thin defeat in a bid to upset a two-term incumbent state senator, New Kensington lawyer Nicole Ziccarelli announced Wednesday she is seeking to oust another entrenched Democrat.

Ziccarelli, a Republican, said she will run against six-term incumbent John Peck for the Westmoreland County District Attorney office in the November election.

“I look at the role of district attorney as not only our chief prosecutor and law enforcement officer, but as an active leader in the community. I will support our heroes in law enforcement, advocate for all victims and become a resounding voice in the fight against crime in our communities,” she said. “Westmoreland County’s current district attorney is simply behind the times and leads a splintered office that is in dire need of new leadership.”

Ziccarelli, 39, of Lower Burrell, came 69 votes short of ousting state Sen. Jim Brewster, a McKeesport Democrat, in last November’s election. The race featured numerous legal challenges over how votes were counted. Ziccarelli finally conceded on Jan. 12, more than two months after Election Day.

Ziccarelli criticized Peck for not challenging health mandates and shutdown orders issued by Gov. Tom Wolf during the coronavirus pandemic.

“When our freedoms are under assault by an out-of-control governor, I won’t be silent,” Ziccarelli said.

She has worked as a lawyer since 2002. While in law school, she interned with the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office and later served as a law clerk to Westmoreland County Judge Chris Scherer.

Ziccarelli previously worked as a defense lawyer in Pittsburgh and operates a private legal practice based in New Kensington, where she represents parents and grandparents in custody matters and mediates divorce cases. She has been appointed by county judges to represent children’s legal interests in court.

Ziccarelli served on the advisory board for Penn State New Kensington, where she taught as an adjunct professor.

She and her husband have four children.