Attorney gets early start as district judge
Attorney Joseph M. George Jr. will get an early start at the magisterial district judge post he essentially locked up during the May primary, thanks to the governor and state Senate. On Tuesday, the Senate confirmed George as the district judge (formerly referred to as district justice) for South Union and Menallen townships. The confirmation was the result of a nomination last month by Gov. Ed Rendell.
George said his confirmation was pushed through the Senate largely because the office was vacant, and Senior Magisterial District Judge Larry Blair had been filling in.
Blair took over when longtime district judge Rick Vernon retired in February. Vernon currently is running for South Union Township supervisor.
George, the former first assistant prosecutor in Fayette County, said he hopes to have all the paperwork completed to start his new job on Nov. 1.
Rendell’s office contacted him immediately after the primary, but George said he already had committed to staying on as a prosecutor until August. That timing put him in the summer break of the Senate, so he had to wait until senators returned to be confirmed.
George said he was back in touch with the governor’s office in September, and met with Rendell at a meeting of county supervisors later in the month.
George said his early start, in part, is because state Sen. Richard A. Kasunic (D-Dunbar) helped push his confirmation through the Senate.
George said he is excited about beginning the new job, and that he was thankful to the many people who supported him, including campaign manager Robert “Tweety” Yatsko, a Menallen Township supervisor.
In the primary, George squared off against Robert Barron and Terry King, but soundly bested them on both the Republican and Democrat tickets, getting more than 50 percent of the vote on each.
King was a former secretary for Magisterial District Judge Mark L. Blair and Robert M. Baron has worked as a constable for local district judges.
George was born and raised in South Union, and graduated from law school in 1995. He was hired as a county deputy prosecutor in 1996.
As part of his campaign, George touted his legal experience, noting that he believed that area of expertise would aide him as a district judge.