Pettit ready to make his own name as Washington County judge
Observer-Reporter
Jesse Pettit shakes hands in January 2017 with Judge John DiSalle after his swearing-in ceremony as district magistrate.
Jesse Pettit
A little more than four years ago, Jesse Pettit never could have dreamed how his legal career would take “an unexpected path” to a seat on the bench in the Washington County Courthouse.
In March 2017, James Ellis surprised everyone by announcing his retirement as magistrate in Peters Township on the last day nominating papers could be circulated for the primary, practically handing the position to Jacob Machel, who would go on to win the Democratic and Republican nominations that spring.
Pettit had previously worked as a prosecutor in the state Attorney General’s office and for the Philadelphia County district attorney, and he appeared content to continue his career as a lawyer. But the decision by Ellis to retire prompted Pettit to unexpectedly jump into the race as an independent candidate, and he won despite the odds being stacked against him running an insurgency campaign in a heavily Republican district.
It was his first campaign, despite coming from a family where politics run deep.
“This is an unexpected path, but I got involved in 2017 to have a positive impact on my local community,” Pettit said. “I’m extremely proud of what I’ve been able to accomplish in 2017 and extremely humbled by the support I received. Running as an independent and accomplishing that is something I’ll never forget in my career.”
His role as district judge provided him the knowledge and judicial temperament, Pettit said, to run this year for Court of Common Pleas judge in Washington County, and he won both party nominations in the May primary to cruise to victory in Tuesday’s election. Pettit, 47, of Peters Township, will take a seat on the bench in January as Washington County’s seventh judge and most likely handle family court and juvenile cases.
The courthouse is a building where his family’s legacy is already enshrined. His father, John Pettit, served as Washington County’s district attorney for 24 years in a tenure that could be described as controversial and complicated. However, Jesse Pettit doesn’t think his father’s political career influenced him to run.
“My relationship with my father was that of a fatherly relationship. I didn’t get involved in politics until well after he had passed on,” Pettit said of his father’s death in 2010 at age 75. “So, I kind of separated one from the other. I’ve taken a different path in politics than my father.”
Pettit didn’t discuss his father’s career while campaigning in either election, although his last name does carry weight in the county.
“I had a very loving and great relationship with my father, but I keep it personal,” Pettit said. “He had his political career, and that’s been written about. I’m writing my own with the support of the community.”
And that relationship in the community has been most important while he served the past four years as magistrate in a district that includes Finleyville and Peters, Union and Nottingham townships. During that time, he was most proud of working on a court security committee to review entry procedures at the 11 magistrate offices in the county. Until a couple years ago, there were no constables stationed at the doors to provide security, but that changed after a gunman opened fire three years ago at a district magistrate’s office in Masontown, Fayette County.
“Everyone had their own roles to play. Mine was dealing with the (magistrate) court system,” Pettit said. “We were able to accomplish that. It impacts safety of the community.”
Pettit said serving on that committee is one example about how a judge can make an impact on his or her community outside the courtroom.
“It’s my goal when I move up … to have that same philosophy to be very involved with what I’m doing on the bench, but also what I’m doing in the community outside the courthouse,” he said.
As he prepares to take the bench, Pettit said he enjoyed a moment with his wife, Rebecca, while they were standing outside a polling station on Election Day as they soaked up the atmosphere. Judges aren’t permitted to politick, so his second campaign could be his last for a while.
“A judge is supposed to be independent. You would hope when somebody walks in the courtroom, the judge isn’t influenced (by politics),” Pettit said.
“When I put that robe on, I have a goal of doing it the right way every day,” he added.