Much has been said about Sen. Kim Ward and Gov. Josh Shapiro regarding the appointment of Jon Wian as Westmoreland County’s register of wills. However, the real political maneuvering began with court-appointed conservator Jim Antoniono, whose handling of the office laid the groundwork for a partisan conflict. Antoniono had every opportunity to stabilize the office without inserting personal preference. Instead, he reinstated former employee Katie Pecarchik, a past Democratic candidate, positioning her as the presumed successor — even though she shouldn’t have been eligible for the appointment.
His actions fueled partisan expectations, turning a routine appointment into unnecessary controversy. This fiasco could have been avoided had Antoniono remained neutral. Instead, he built up Pecarchik’s role, only to express outrage when she wasn’t chosen. The real political interference came from the conservator, not Ward or Shapiro.
In the end, Ward and Shapiro made the right decision by appointing a qualified candidate in Wian — someone without prior entanglements in the office’s troubled history.
Juliana R. Morich
Murrysville