Senate OKs new Westmoreland register of wills, judge

They were both nominated by Gov. Josh Shapiro to fill vacant positions.

Westmoreland County’s newest row officer and a judge could be sworn in later this week after the Pennsylvania Senate on Tuesday confirmed both nominations from Gov. Josh Shapiro to fill the vacancies.

Republican Jon Wian, 43, of Delmont, takes over the Register of Wills, the office where wills, estates, adoptions and guardianship records are filed and marriage licenses are processed.

Hempfield attorney Matt Schimizzi, 41, was tabbed to fill a vacancy on the county’s Court of Common Pleas.

Both appointments were part of a deal to fill multiple elected offices, judgeships and commission seats throughout the state.

Wian replaces acting Register of Wills Katie Pecarchik, who assumed the job last September following the court-influenced retirement of three-term Republican Sherry Magretti Hamilton. Magretti Hamilton was demoted and forced to retire after a judge found her in contempt after officials said she failed to correct issues that led to delays and years of backlogs.

Officials blamed the office problems on a depleted staff caused by mismanagement.

“Everything is running well in that office, but I’ll get in there and assess things before any changes are made,” Wian said.

Wian will serve the remaining three years of Hamilton’s term. He had served as chief of staff to Westmoreland County Commissioner Sean Kertes since 2020.

Pecarchik is a former register of wills office employee who retired in 2023 but was rehired by a court-appointed conservator to fix the office and later elevated to the top job. She was not considered for the gubernatorial appointment. She said she will retire again by week’s end.

“I am very disappointed, and I was disappointed (the Register of Wills position) was not put on the ballot this year,” Pecarchik said. “I will stay on until (Wian) is sworn in.”

Meanwhile, Schimizzi’s appointment returns the county bench to its full complement of 11 full-time judges.

For the last year, the county court system has operated with reduced staff following the January 2024 retirement of Judge Rita Hathaway. Officials said her absence strained operations in the civil court division, where all cases have been overseen by just two judges.

President Judge Christopher Feliciani, who has spent the last 13 years hearing criminal cases, will shift to the civil division later this month.

Judge Mike Stewart will transfer from the family court division to hear criminal cases.

“I am thankful they (civil court Judges Chris Scherer and Harry Smail Jr.) were able to take on that burden,” Feliciani said. “This (appointment) will put us back up to full capacity in the civil division.”

Schimizzi will start his judicial assignment hearing family court cases and will serve as judge until a voters elect a candidate to a full 10-year term on the bench this fall. He announced his candidacy for the upcoming judicial election last month.