Fairchance man seeking office of prothonotary
Robert “Ted” Pritchard of Fairchance has formally announced he is seeking the Democratic nomination for the office of Fayette County Prothonotary in the May primary election.
“As prothonotary, I will run the office very efficient to implement strategies to save the taxpayers’ money,” Pritchard said. “I want to change the course of Fayette County in a positive direction.”
“There is no room for error in the prothonotary’s office,” Pritchard said.
He said filings submitted in the prothonotary’s office must arrive prior to the deadline established by any relevant statute of limitations, and that the filings must be in the proper format.
According to Pritchard, the court could dismiss a case that was not filed properly, and the injured party would be totally barred from instituting another claim.
He also noted that the court is very reluctant to permit amendments to filings over the objections of the opposing party.
“So, in essence,” Pritchard stated, “a prothonotary needs to possess the correct qualifications in today’s legal world. Yesteryear, it was very easy to play it by ear, but this no longer rings true.”
Pritchard said he has both in-depth and broad knowledge and understanding of the legal system, with experience at the trial and appellate levels.
He said has a bachelor’s degree with emphasis on criminal justice and paralegal studies, and he is familiar with legal procedures and appropriate formats of pleadings filed as part of the litigation process.
As prothonotary, Pritchard said he would enact a new set of fees related to the filing of documents.
“After the initial filing of a suit,” he said, “there are no fees assessed for supplemental filings, which take as much time to process as the initial filing.”
“I want to enact a fee schooled for these types of filings which would generate approximately $3 million annually, then the county would be able to return some of the four-mill tax increase to the taxpayers,” Pritchard said.
“I’m a firm believer that the user of government services should pay instead of the taxpayer,” he added.
Pritchard will appear on the ballot against fellow Democrats Paul Shipley, Pamela Hudson and Nina Capuzzi-Frankhouser.
In March, Pritchard filed objections to the nominating petitions of all three other candidates in a single filing.
Three county judges reviewed the objections individually, and each one was denied.
Pritchard has appealed to Commonwealth Court to have the other three candidates’ nominating petitions set aside, but the court has yet to reach decisions in those cases.
Pritchard has launched unsuccessful bids for public positions in the past, most recently running against incumbent Sheriff Gary D. Brownfield in 2011.