Waters loses for Superior Court
A Pittsburgh judge defeated the Municipal Court judge for seat on the appeals court.
HARRISBURG - Allegheny County Court Judge Jack McVay defeated Philadelphia Municipal Court Judge Joseph Waters Jr. on Tuesday for the Democratic nomination for a vacant seat on the state Superior Court.
McVay, 56, a former pharmacist who is serving his sixth year in the county's Family Court, beat Waters, 60, a retired Philadelphia police captain who is in his fourth year on the bench, in the only statewide race on primary day.
McVay will face Harrisburg lawyer Vic Stabile, who ran unopposed for the Republican nomination, in the November general election.
McVay, a Pittsburgh resident, was previously was in private practice, specializing in cases involving children and families, and said he worked one day a week as a pharmacist during his first few years on the bench.
Waters, who spent 21 years on the police force, had promised to take "a working-class perspective" to the state's main intermediate-level appeals court, which handles a wide range of criminal and civil cases.
Waters carried the endorsement of the Democratic State Committee.
Both Democratic candidates and Stabile had received favorable recommendations from a state bar panel. The open seat was vacated last year by now-Senior Judge John Musmanno when he reached the maximum retirement age of 70.
The salary for a Superior Court judge is $188,337 this year.
In one of two special elections to fill open seats in the state House of Representatives, Allegheny County voters elected lawyer Daniel Miller of Pittsburgh to replace former Rep. Matt Smith, who was elected to the state Senate.
Miller defeated two other Pittsburgh residents, Republican nominee Dan Remely and Libertarian candidate George Brown.
In the other special election, Democrat Kevin Schreiber was elected in York County. He will replace former Rep. Eugene DePasquale, who was elected auditor general. Schreiber defeated Republican Bryan Tate and Green Party candidate William Swartz.