PORTAGE — Bob Kunko, a longtime deputy sheriff in Cambria County, has announced that he is running for district judge in District 47-3-03.
The district covers Portage, Cassandra, Lilly and Wilmore boroughs, and Munster, Portage, Summerhill and Washington townships.
Incumbent District Judge Galen Decort is expected to seek re-election.
Kunko, 52, a Portage Township resident and a Democrat, will cross-file, seeking both his party’s and the Republican nominations.
He has been a sheriff’s deputy for 24 years, the last 20 as first deputy.
He is a graduate of Portage Area High School, the Pennsylvania Regional Police Academy and the state Deputy Sheriff’s Academy. In 2008, he completed schooling and was certified to serve as a magisterial district judge by the state Supreme Court’s Minor Judiciary Education Board.
Kunko previously was a police officer in Portage Borough from 1977-82, working both full time and part time. He is a member of the Cambria drug task force.
He has received a number of state and federal certifications, including as a computer terminal coordinator for state and federal police/crime networks.
“My qualifications as a police officer and deputy sheriff, in both criminal and civil law with 28 years of experience, make me a qualified candidate for this office,” he said.
He and his wife, the former Jackie Pfeilstucker, have two children and two grandchildren.
Local News
Cambria deputy seeks nod for district judge
- Local News
-
-
$27.1B budget proposed
Gov. Tom Corbett on Tuesday proposed a budget of $27.1 billion, with no tax increases, deep cuts to higher education assistance and a range of cost-cutting in services for the poor, elderly and disabled.
-
Highlights of Gov. Corbett's state spending plan
Read on to see a bulleted list of Gov. Tom Corbett’s $27.1 billion state spending plan for the year that starts July 1.
-
Universities face steep cuts
State universities still trying to recover from deep cuts last year would have their public funding slashed even further under a budget plan unveiled Tuesday, leading some institutions to warn of a choice between maintaining buildings and offering academic programs students need to graduate.
-
Plan hurts middle class, local Democrats contend
While members of his own party praised Gov. Tom Corbett’s fiscal restraint, some local Democratic lawmakers said the Republican’s proposed budget panders to corporate interests while inflicting pain on the middle class.
-
Senate approves proposed fee on shale drilling
The state Senate voted today to impose a fee on natural-gas drilling in Pennsylvania and expand regulations for the booming industry, a milestone in a debate that has raged in the Capitol for several years.
Senators voted 31-19 to approve the 174-page bill that would fund road work and environmental clean-ups and give local governments the power to decide if the fee would be imposed on their local wells.
“Could we have done better? Supposedly, but it has taken three years to get this far,” said supporter Sen. John Wozniak, D-Johnstown, among a handful who crossed party lines. “It is time to turn the page.” -
Blogging with heart
I've got so much stuff for this Sunday's American Heart Month package, that some of the stories will spill over onto Monday. But I don't know what to leave out, or hold for the next week, so it looks like a double hit this week.
-
Pa. gas drilling fee bill debate ends without vote
Pennsylvania, the only major gas-producing state that does not tax the taking of natural gas from its soil, moved closer Tuesday to imposing a fee on the drilling in the vast Marcellus Shale reserves that have transformed the state in recent years.
-
Detour hurting some Portage businesses
Craig Mazzarese’s business depends heavily on drive-by customers, but since last week fewer drive-bys have been stopping
-
Local airport funding intact
Airport leaders here are breathing sighs of relief after Congress approved funding to support local commercial air service through 2015.
-
With state revenue tight, Westmont seeks school budget input
The Westmont Hilltop school board on Tuesday night held a public forum at the middle school to explain why the district, already one of the most efficient in the state, must raise taxes each year.
- More Local News Headlines
-






