Letter to the editor: Keep Peck Yakopec as district judge

Hopefully, this letter ends all of the lies, half-truths and misleading information that has been circulated about District Judge Cheryl Peck Yakopec. Most of us know she has been our judge in the Lower Burrell, Upper Burrell, Allegheny Township, Vandergrift, etc., area for the past 29 years. Peck Yakopec has served us well as an honest, fair and compassionate judge.

Unfortunately, her opponent and her supporters are saying she is too old, and if she is reelected, she must retire before her term ends. This is not true! Anyone who has talked with or seen Peck Yakopec knows that she is not too old. The law states that a district judge will retire at 75, yet at the same time that judge can be certified as a senior district judge and continue working in the same capacity, at the same office, until he or she is 78. In fact, some judges have worked until 80 years of age if they choose.

All judges who apply to be senior judges are appointed. This is the law, this is the truth, these are the facts.

Peck Yakopec on a daily basis for the past 29 years has dealt with the law, and the facts, and the truth. Anyone who wants to be a judge should know the law, the facts, and not spread untruths.

Keep Judge Cheryl Peck Yakopec. There is no substitute for experience and knowledge.

Judy Simon

Lower Burrell