A former deputy coroner who left his job just months after his new boss was elected has announced his candidacy for coroner.
John Ackerman, 68, of Hempfield, said he has no ill will against incumbent Coroner Tim Carson, but said he wants to lead the county office of death investigations.
“I have more experience, and experience speaks volume,” Ackerman said.
Ackerman, a Republican, served 18 years as a deputy coroner but said he retired in 2022 after Carson announced plans to terminate the coroner’s office cadaver dog program. Ackerman had run the program since its inception in 2014.
He and his dog, Rio, continue to work for local police departments during searches for human remains and he wants to reinstate the program in the coroner’s office.
When shuttering the program in 2022, Carson said it was too costly and underutilized.
A Republican from Scottdale, Carson last month announced his bid for a second term in office. He ousted longtime coroner Ken Bacha, a Democrat, in 2021.
Ackerman worked as a deputy under Bacha and briefly with Carson.
He works part time as a police officer in Southwest Greensburg.
