May 19, 2021 2 min read

The field of 11 candidates vying to be judges in four Washington County magisterial was whittled to five Tuesday, as candidates for the Democratic and Republican parties were chosen in each district.

Curtis Thompson, who has been the judge in District 27-3-02 for 30 years, easily fended off a challenge from Cokeburg newcomer Ron Tardivo, winning both the Democratic and Republican nominations after cross-filing in both contests. This means he will face no challenger in the general election in November. Thompson’s district includes such communities as Scenery Hill, Marianna, Bentleyville and Ellswoth.

The three other Washington County magisterial districts where there were contested races incumbents were not on the ballot. In District 27-3-10, Judge Ethan Ward did not seek re-election, and in District 27-1-01, Judge Robert Redlinger announced his retirement. The ascension of Judge Traci McDonald-Kemp to a seat on the Washington County Court of Common Pleas in 2019 has left the seat in District 27-3-06 open since then.

In District 27-3-10, Chartiers Valley School District police officer John Bruner was locked in a tight race with Dan Stanek, a police officer with the Trinity Area School District for the Democratic nod, while Bruner WON the Republican nomination. Bruner and Stanek bested Scott Bernett, an Avella resident and the owner of a fire restoration company, and Jason Moore, an employee of his family’s trucking business. The district includes Claysville, West Alexander, Buffalo, Independence and Hopewell townships, and other municipalities.

It was a split decision in District 27-3-06, where Kristin Clingerman, an associate criminal justice professor at Waynesburg University, won the Democratic nomination, while Lou McQuillan, the police chief in Mt. Pleasant Township, took the Republican nomination. Hickory, McDonald, and Cecil and Robinson townships are among the communities in the district.

The city of Washington, Gabby Heights and North Franklin Township are in District 27-1-01, and Kelly Stewart, an employee in the Washington County District Attorney’s Office, was poised to win both the Republican and Democratic nominations. Her competitors were Robert Dulaney, a porter with the Budd Baer Auto Group in Washington, and Patrick Puskarich, a sergeant deputy in the Washington County Sheriff’s Department.