Peck seeks to fight off Ziccarelli challenge in Westmoreland district attorney race

For the first time in a quarter century, Westmoreland County District Attorney John Peck has a race on his hands.

Republican Nicole Ziccarelli, fresh off a razor-thin defeat in a bid for state Senate last fall, insists it’s time to change leadership in the county prosecutor’s office.

“I respect the current district attorney very much, but after this much time, I believe we need a change in leadership, and the time is now,” Ziccarelli said.

Peck, 74, of New Kensington has long political roots in Westmoreland County. His father served as county sheriff for more than a decade. After spending several years in the public defender’s office, Peck served as a part-time assistant district attorney and continued in that role until he was appointed to the top job. He won his first full four-year term in 1997.

He said the job hasn’t passed him by and his 40 years of experience as a prosecutor is what the county residents need.

“I don’t think this is any different from my past Republican or Democratic challengers who also had no experience in doing the job,” Peck said.

For Peck, that experience includes years in the courtroom as the office’s top prosecutor who has handled nearly every high-profile criminal case in the county since he was first appointed to the job by county judges. In 2019, before the coronavirus pandemic halted trials throughout much of 2020, Peck served as lead attorney in five murder cases that went before juries. All ended with convictions.

He said he has no intention of slowing down and will continue to prosecute cases into a seventh term.

Ziccarelli said she sees the district attorney’s job, at least for now, as an administrative post.

Ziccarelli, 40, of Lower Burrell works as a private practice attorney with a caseload that focuses primarily on family court cases. She previously worked as a clerk for judges in Allegheny and Westmoreland counties. After law school, she interned with the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office and worked for a Pittsburgh-based criminal defense firm.

“We have different kinds of experience,” Ziccarelli said. “I have a tremendous amount of respect for the people who work in the district attorney’s office, but they need fresh leadership.”

She called for more community outreach and said, as district attorney, she will cultivate a better working relationship with local police. She accused Peck of sitting on a pile of cash forfeited to the district attorney’s office after the arrest of drug dealers and said that money should be sent to police departments to augment their funding.

Ziccarelli also suggested county prosecutors have been inconsistent in how they’ve handled cases involving drug dealers charged with causing fatal overdoses.

“I am concerned that over the last several months drug dealers have been allowed to plead their cases down to house arrest. You have to prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law,” Ziccarelli said.

She joined the district attorney’s race after her campaign last fall, where she fell 69 votes short of ousting Democratic incumbent state Sen. Jim Brewster of McKeesport.

Peck dismissed concerns about his office leadership and said each criminal prosecution is judged independently based on the facts of the case.

“She’s made age an issue and made statements that it has passed me by. It’s called the practice of law because you become better with practice,” Peck said. “Leadership, that’s a meritless claim. I’m the first person to get to the office, and I’m usually the last person to leave every day.”

He said he leads by example through his work in the courtroom, and his mentorship of young lawyers is what sets the two candidates apart.

Both candidates downplayed the role politics can play for the district attorney.

“I think the district attorney’s office provides the opportunity to make a positive difference in people’s lives, those who come into contact with the criminal justice system,” Peck said. “I enjoy the challenge of it, and I am no less passionate today than I was when I came into the office 40 years ago.”

Ziccarelli said she views her role, should she become district attorney, as one that reflects her personal values and those of voters in an increasingly Republican-leaning county.

“We need a district attorney whose values reflect the county,” Ziccarelli said.