Voters will pick Erie County's newest judge this year. Race starts with three candidates
One seat on the Erie County Court of Common Pleas is up for election this year, and the race so far resembles the race for another open seat two years ago.
Three candidates have announced they are running in the May 20 municipal primary, just as three candidates campaigned in the primary in 2023.
One of the candidates this year also ran in 2023.
She is Leigh Ann Orton, 53, a registered Republican from North East who is now the first assistant solicitor for Erie County.
The other candidates who have announced are newcomers to a judicial race.
They are Jeremy Lightner, 39, one of two chief deputy district attorneys for Erie County, and Emily Mosco Merski, 42, an Erie lawyer in private practice and a part-time assistant public defender for the county.
https://www.goerie.com/story/news/politics/2025/02/07/erie-county-pa-judicial-race-three-vying-one-open-seat-lightner-merski-orton/78093633007/