Bill Hardwick, surrounded by supporters and campaign signs, delivered a speech on Tuesday evening announcing his candidacy for the magisterial district judge seat serving District 11-1-05 in Kingston and Edwardsville.
Sam Zavada | Times Leader
Former state Rep. Aaron Kaufer helped introduce Bill Hardwick at Hardwick’s announcement event. Hardwick is running for the magisterial district judge seat serving District 11-1-05 in Kingston and Edwardsville.
Sam Zavada | Times Leader
KINGSTON — Bill Hardwick announced his candidacy for the magisterial district judge seat serving District 11-1-05 in Kingston and Edwardsville on Tuesday night at Pierce Street Deli.
Hardwick’s résumé includes a number of community service initiatives, most notably his role on the Wyoming Valley West school board. Other titles held by Hardwick include vice chairman of the Luzerne County Flood Protection Authority, president of the Back Mountain Federal Credit Union, and president of the Hoyt Library executive board.
The seat Hardwick seeks is currently vacant, though Senior Judge James E. Tupper has served in the role on an interim basis. The seat was previously held by James J. Haggerty, who passed away in March 2024. Most recently, Haggerty won a six-year term — the same length of term being sought by Hardwick — in 2023.
According to previous reporting from the Times Leader, primary election candidates were allowed to circulate their nomination petitions starting on Tuesday, and must file them by March 11 to appear on the ballot in the May 20 primary election. Effective Jan. 1, 2025, the annual salary for magisterial district judges is $113,713. That amount may increase for 2026, when those elected in 2025 take office.
A number of current elected officials and office seekers made appearances at Tuesday night’s event, with some looking to get a fast start on their petition signatures. Former state Rep. Aaron Kaufer and Jim Bobeck, Hardwick’s campaign chair, introduced the evening’s headlining candidate, who offered brief remarks of his own. Hardwick said that he will reflect the empathy shown to him by the late Magisterial District Judge Andrew Barilla Jr. when he was caught for shoplifting as a teenager.
“That’s the kind of judge I want to be,” Hardwick said of Barilla Jr. “The one who knows there are bad people and [will] work with law enforcement to keep them off of our streets, but also the one who knows everybody could make a mistake. And everybody deserves to be heard and to be understood, so we take that as part of our decision on what’s the next step. That’s what I want to bring to the bench.”
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