Primary ballots set for Westmoreland County races

Four of five district judge seats up for grabs in 2021 will have contested primaries in May.

Meanwhile, just one countywide race — the Republican primary for the clerk of courts office — will be contested this spring.

Barring candidate challenges, the May 18 primary ballots appear set. The deadline to file nominating petitions expired Tuesday. Elections Bureau Director JoAnn Sebastiani released the names of candidates for county offices after the deadline. A full list of candidates, including those seeking municipal offices and school district seats, could be released today, she said.

There will be contested primaries in four district judge races where no incumbents are seeking reelection.

In the race to replace Judge Anthony Bompiani in Youngwood, Hempfield Supervisor Doug Weimer, Deputy Sheriff Irvin Shipley and South Greensburg Police Chief Scott Fanchalsky each registered to run in the Democratic and Republican primaries.

Three candidates are seeking the open Penn Township seat of Judge Helen Kistler, who plans to retire. Trafford Council President Kris Cardiff, Assistant District Attorney Rebecca Calisti Tyburski and Georgia Snowden, a former district judge clerk in Allegheny County, will appear on the ballot this spring. Snowden unsuccessfully challenged Kistler in the 2015 election. All three candidates will run in both the Republican and Democratic primaries.

Assistant Public Defender Tamara Mahady will seek to replace her cousin, Unity District Judge Michael Mahady, who is retiring at year’s end. She will face Rebecca Salandro, who works as a criminal justice liaison for Westmoreland Case Management and Support, in both party primaries.

Seeking to replace retiring Judge Mark Bilik in Derry are Assistant District Attorney Kelly Tua Hammers, retired police officer Janelle L. Hood and former court clerk Amy Altman McChesney. All three candidates will run in both party primaries.

Judge Mark Mansour is unopposed in his bid for a fifth six-year term to oversee the district court in Hempfield.

The Republican primary to replace Clerk of Courts Bryan Kline is the lone contested race among the four county row office contests this year. Kline, a Republican, resigned last month to become warden of Westmoreland County Prison.

Kline’s top deputy, Acting Clerk of Courts Megan Loughner of Unity, will run against Army veteran Dorey Stabile McCarron of North Huntingdon in the GOP primary. Muzzy Colosimo, the long-time high school football coach, now at Valley High School, is uncontested in the Democratic primary.

The race for district attorney likely will see sixth-term incumbent Democrat John Peck of New Kensington up against Republican New Kensington lawyer Nicole Ziccarelli in November. Both are unopposed in their party primaries this spring.

Five-term incumbent county Coroner Ken Bacha, a Greensburg Democrat, and Republican Tim Carson, a former Scottdale mayor, both are unopposed in the primary and are set to square off in the November election.

Former county Recorder of Deeds Tom Murphy, a New Kensington Democrat, and Republican Gina O’Barto of Unity, an accounts payable clerk in the county controller’s office, have no primary opponents to fill the job as county prothonotary. Incumbent Democrat Christina O’Brien, who has served in the role for 11 years, is not running for reelection.