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KINGSTON — Outgoing Mayor James Haggerty won both party nominations for Kingston district judge in Tuesday’s primary and will be unopposed on November’s general ballot, unofficial results show.
Haggerty easily outdistanced Mamie Phillips on the Republican side and narrowly defeated her on the Democratic ticket, according to unofficial tallies.
They showed Haggerty beat Phillips on the Republican side by a count of 691 to 235. Among Democrats, he earned 661 votes while Phillips picked up only 519.
Haggerty, 51, said he was a little bit surprised at the vote totals since he had never run for anything in Edwardsville Borough, which is in magisterial district 11-1-05 along with Kingston Borough.
“But we knocked on a lot of doors and made a lot of new friends there,” Haggerty said. “I’m grateful to everybody who voted for me — in Edwardsville and in Kingston. Our team worked very hard in this campaign and it shows in the numbers.”
The salary for district judge is $89,438 per year. Haggerty said he can continue to practice law, but with some restrictions. He said he cannot handle any criminal cases and can’t appear before any other district judge. He also cannot handle any cases before any municipal agencies, such as zoning boards.
Haggerty, who has served as mayor of Kingston for 20 years, said he is proud of his time leading his hometown’s government.
“I had a great run as mayor of Kingston,” he said. “I will never have a better job than that of mayor of my hometown.”
Haggerty said he decided to make the switch because he has been an attorney for 27 years and that’s his true career.
“It’s where my education is and my training,” Haggerty said. “I really feel I can do an effective job as district judge.”
Haggerty also praised his opponent, saying Phillips ran a positive, effective campaign.
“No doubt she worked very hard as well,” Haggerty said. “I think she will have more opportunities in the future.”
Current District Judge Paul Roberts ran unopposed on the Republican ticket for mayor of Kingston. He also ran a write-in campaign on the Democratic side. There were 166 write-in votes cast, and Haggerty said he believes most of them were for Roberts.
“We wish Paul all the best and have no doubt he will be an effective mayor,” Haggerty said. “Kingston will be proud of him.”
Roberts served as district judge for 29 years.
District judges in Pennsylvania are elected to six-year terms, and are tasked with presiding over preliminary arraignments and hearings in criminal cases, as well as handling minor civil matters and proceedings involving summary offenses.
During the campaign, Haggerty said voters told him they wanted integrity, a record of accomplishment, and someone who’s not afraid to step up when problems flare up in their neighborhoods.
Phillips, 38, has worked as an assistant Luzerne County district attorney since 2009, rising from the juvenile division to the violent crimes unit, where she’s prosecuted some of the area’s most notorious criminals. Double-murderer Hugo Selenski was among the seven first-degree murder cases she prosecuted that resulted in jury convictions.
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