3 men in running for Cranberry judge seat
At most, only two can proceed between two attorneys and a local man who seek the district judge's seat for the Cranberry Township area during the May 18 primary election.
Up for election, any of the three candidates would be new to the role of magisterial district judge for District 50-3-04 as current District Judge David Kovach did not seek re-election.
Russell Zangrilli of Seven Fields; attorney Kevin Flaherty of Cranberry Township; and attorney Robert Andrews of Cranberry Township will appear cross-filed on the May 18 primary election ballots.If one candidate wins both the Republican and Democratic primaries, they run unopposed in the general election. If split, then one would be the Republican nominee and the other the Democratic nominee.While all candidates said they have spent time in the court, Flaherty said he is there on a weekly basis through his role as the chief public defender for Butler County. He said through that work he has generated great relationships with the staff and others involved in the court.“Nobody knows that system like I do,” Flaherty said. “They know me, and they know I can hit the ground running with the job.”Andrews said he, too, has those relationships, and he would use them to bring continuity and stability to an office he said has been very well run. He said his only deviation would be to work harder, and his more than 30 years of experience make him prepared to do so.
“I would expand hours if necessary to accommodate cases,” Andrews said. “I will come prepared with my scheduling plan.”On the other hand, Zangrilli said he is pleased to be the change-of-pace candidate, offering himself not as an attorney, but a community member. He said sometimes attorneys rely on their connections too heavily, and that worries him when it comes to a job revolving around fairness.“I looked at everything, and I didn't like what was happening,” Zangrilli said. “Our best district judges are non-attorneys.”However, Andrews said the most qualified should get the job, and he said he is that candidate, having formerly held positions as deputy attorney general and senior deputy attorney general at the beginning of his lengthy career in the courts.“My qualifications speak for themselves,” Andrews said. “I will effectively and diligently work this job as a full-time job to bridge the gap between every entity in my district.”
Flaherty said his 33 years as an attorney have also made him the ideal candidate, and he also spent several years imparting his knowledge to students at Duquesne University Law School. He said he has also sat on panels that listened to appeals on cases from the magistrate level.“Nobody has the experience that I have in this system,” Flaherty said. “Cranberry Township is a unique place. I just plan on being part of that and continuing that tradition of what's been excellence from the bench.”While the attorneys stand on their experience, Zangrilli stands on a view from a different perspective. He said if elected, he would even step down from his position at Thermal Flow Equipment to dedicate his full attention to the position.“Fair and equitable justice; every person; every time. Everybody deserves their chance to be heard,” said Zangrilli about the type of judge he would like to be. “They should feel comfortable being in front of that person.”
