Local attorney Ron McGlaughlin announced Wednesday that he will run for Centre County Court of Common Pleas Judge.
McGlaughlin said in a release he will be seeking the vacancy created by President Judge Thomas Kistler’s decision not to seek re-election. Kistler has been on the bench since 1998 and has been president judge since 2012.
“I am looking forward to serving the people of Centre County” McGlaughlin said. “I believe that my legal experience and my commitment to this community make me an excellent candidate for this important position in the county.”
Primary elections in Pennsylvania are on May 17. County judges are elected to 10-year terms.
A practicing attorney for more than 30 years, McGlaughlin is a shareholder in the Centre County law firm of Stover McLaughlin, P.C., which has offices in State College and Bellefonte. His practice areas include business and corporate law, criminal law, family law, real estate, and wills and estates. He is a past president of the Centre County Bar Association.
In 2015, he was nominated by the Centre County Republican Committee to run in a special judicial election to replace Judge Bradley Lunsford, who announced his retirement two months before the November municipal elections. Democrat Katie Oliver won the election by about 1,500 votes.
Among his community activities, McGlaughlin is a trustee for St. Paul’s United Methodist Church, a volunteer driver for Meals on Wheels and a past president of the State College Rotary Club. In 1992, he was selected as the Jaycees Outstanding Young Lawyer.
McGlaughlin lives in Harris Township with his wife, Ann. They have two children who are both in the U.S. Navy. Their son, Alec, is a Lieutenant (junior grade) stationed in Charleston, S.C., and their daughter, Caitlin, is a Midshipman 2nd Class at the U.S. Naval Academy. Ann McGlaughlin is a former member and president of the State College Area School Board.
“I have spent my career in the courtroom and am proud of the relationships that I have built in the courthouse,’ McGlaughlin said. ‘I look forward to continuing the work of Judge Kistler to ensure that the residents of Centre County can trust in the fairness, efficiency and integrity of the legal system.”
McGlaughlin graduated from Susquehanna University in 1981 and earned his law degree from Ohio Northern Law School in 1984. He has lived and practiced law in the State College area since 1987.
