Westmoreland Clerk of Courts candidates tout experience ahead of May primary

Westmoreland’s Clerk of Courts office in 2009 became the first domino to fall in the Republican Party takeover of most county row offices after more than a half-century of Democratic dominance.

The office’s leadership is again in the spotlight. In the May 18 primary election, Clerk of Courts is the lone contested race for a Westmoreland County office; incumbents in three other races do not face primary challengers.

Two women — one who since February has served as the acting office holder and a challenger who says a new set of eyes is needed to improve operations — will square off to serve as the GOP’s candidate in the November general election.

Megan Loughner, 36, of Unity was sworn in as the acting Clerk of Courts in February, replacing her longtime boss, Bryan Kline, who left office after serving 11 years as the head of the department that oversees all criminal court records. Kline resigned after being hired as the new warden of the county prison.

Loughner is challenged this spring by Army veteran Dorey Stabile McCarron, 46, of North Huntingdon. She works as a coordinator for service repairs and client relations with a New York-based company that sells retail digital displays. She holds a master’s degree from Carlow University and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Pittsburgh.

Muzzy Colosimo, the longtime high school football coach now at Valley High School, is uncontested in the Democratic primary for the office.

Loughner served under Kline since his first day in office after they worked together as caseworkers with county Case Management serving behavioral health clients. She was hired as the head of fiscal operations for the clerk’s office and was promoted to Kline’s first deputy in 2016.

Kline endorsed her candidacy as his permanent replacement to serve a new four-year term in office.

“I have a vested interest in this office,” Loughner said.

She said she will continue Kline’s programs, including holding hearings for defendants who are delinquent in paying costs, fines and restitution, and is following through with the state’s effort to institute a new electronic filing system for criminal court documents.

Loughner said that in March — her first month on the job as the acting clerk of courts — the office collected about $817,000, the highest amount brought in during the past decade. She also touted her work to create a mobile smartphone app unveiled late last year to provide additional access to the Clerk of Courts’ records and services.

“I feel more can be done for crime victims,” Loughner said. “I’m running a campaign based on my experience. I’m the only Republican candidate that’s job ready on day one.”

Loughner holds a bachelor’s of science in psychology with a minor in criminal justice from Saint Vincent College. She is a member of the Prothonotaries and Clerks of Courts Association, the Westmoreland Criminal Justice Advisory Board and the county Records Committee.

McCarron, who like Loughner is a first-time candidate for public office, said her military and private sector experience makes her the better choice.

“I was asked to run for it. I’m not a politician, but I care about the county. I want to do more for the community,” McCarron said. “I know this job has no legislative responsibilities, but it’s about customer service.”

She said Loughner has brought no new ideas to the office and only adopted Kline’s accomplishments as her own. She suggested there are internal issues such as a high turnover of employees and a lack of training among staff, situations she said she is more capable of correcting because of her private sector experience supervising a staff of 15 remote workers.

“You can’t think outside the box if you haven’t been outside the box. Having a new, fresh set of eyes to assess everyone’s strengths is needed,” McCarron said.