Officials sworn in, including new judge, register of wills
By RENATTA SIGNORINI
TribLive
Judge Harry Smail Jr. knows how well-versed Katie Pecarchik is in the operation of the Westmoreland County Register of Wills Office.
As a clerk, she left a lasting impact on him when he as a young attorney filing estate matters. She again impressed him after taking over as acting register of wills when allegations of office mismanagement led to the elected officeholder’s forced resignation.
He administered the oath of office to Pecarchik then, and he did it again Tuesday.
“Because of that commitment, I’m very proud to swear her in,” Smail said.
Pecarchik joined seven other elected officials who raised their right hands at the Westmoreland County Courthouse in Greensburg and promised to uphold the oaths of their respective offices. Most had been reelected to their posts, but Pecarchik and Judge Matthew Schimizzi won their first races.
President Judge Christopher Feliciani reminded them all that the oath is a daily commitment.
“Today is not simply about … titles of office; it is about public trust,” he said during the swearing-in ceremony.
Pecarchik worked as a clerk in the register of wills office for more than 20 years before retiring in 2023.
She was elected to serve an abbreviated two-year term to replace Sherry Magretti Hamilton. Hamilton was found in contempt of court in May 2024, months after being elected to her third four-year term, for violations of court orders related to a backlog of filings for adoptions and estate appeals.
The register of wills and clerk of the orphans’ court records adoptions, files wills and estates, and issues marriage licenses. County officials claimed Hamilton rarely came to work and failed to replace staff, which left the office severely understaffed and unable to perform its required functions.
Hamilton was stripped of her authority to run the office and later agreed to resign and pay a $10,000
fine for the contempt finding to be reclassified as a civil judgment.
A conservator was put in charge of the office, and Pecarchik — who unsuccessfully ran against Hamilton in 2019 — was hired as first deputy. She was sworn in as acting register in September 2024 after Hamilton’s resignation.
Pecarchik was replaced in February after the state Senate confirmed Jon Wian to head the office for the rest of 2025. Pecarchik ultimately won the Republican nomination in May’s primary.
On Tuesday, Pecarchik said she appreciates the confidence from voters, promising to be in the office full time.
“I will be there for them whenever someone needs me,” she said.
Other officials sworn in Tuesday:
• Smail and Judge Scott Mears Jr. were sworn in after being retained for new 10-year terms. Mears and Feliciani will swap dockets, with Mears heading to the civil division and Feliciani returning to criminal court.
• Schimizzi was sworn in for a 10-year term. He was appointed in February to fill out the remaining term of Senior Judge Rita Hathaway after her retirement. Schimizzi is assigned to family court, but Hathaway, who administered the oath of office, remembered his first trial as an attorney in her courtroom.
“His client was acquitted, and the jury loved him,” she recalled. “He already has the reputation of a hardworking and fair judge.”
• District Judge Wayne Vlasic, District Attorney Nicole Ziccarelli, Prothonotary Gina O’Barto and Clerk of Courts Megan Loughner were sworn in following their reelections. Judge Tim Krieger, who was retained, and John Ackerman, who was elected coroner, were not present.
