By RICH CHOLODOFSKY
Trib Total Media
Months of campaigning and election-night nerves were a thing of past Thursday as Westmoreland County’s new slate of government officials were sworn into office.
The former candidates and now newly elected officials, with family members and supporters by their sides, one-by-one came before the county’s Common Pleas Court judges to take their oaths of office.
The event, conducted in the county’s ceremonial courtroom at the courthouse in Greensburg, marked a turning of the page for county government with six new officials taking control of various offices. Their new terms officially begin on Jan. 6.
When work begins next month, the county court will operate with two new judges: Michael Stewart II and Rostraver Township’s Justin Walsh, who are expected to serve as judges in the family court division.
“This is the first time in seven years we will have a full complement of judges,” said President Judge Rita Hathaway.
Stewart, a lawyer from Hempfield, and Walsh, a Republican member of the state House of Representatives, will serve 10-year terms on the bench.
“It was an honor and a privilege and a wonderful day for my family and friends,” Walsh told The Mon Valley Independent. “It was a combination of a lot of hard work and support from a lot of people.”
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