McCausland Announces Election Bid

 

by Jonathan Weaver

A Cowanshannock Township man is campaigning to be the next district judge in Rural Valley.

Kevin McCausland will seek both Democratic and Republican nominations this May to fill the Magisterial District Judge vacancy in District 4.

McCausland, who moved to Cowanshannock Township after him and his wife – Patti –, graduated from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, worked in criminal justice for 25 years until his retirement in June 2015. He worked as a probation officer for Indiana County, at SCI-Pine Grove with the Department of Corrections before finishing his career thus far as a parole agent with the Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole.

McCausland recalled many criminal investigations that led him to the district court office.

“I’ve sat through many preliminary hearings and I know the judicial system very well,” McCausland said. “(Being a district judge) was something I always thought about. When I worked for the state as a parole agent, I was not able to do anything politically, but when I retired in June `15, that made me eligible to run for the political position. It’s a learning experience.”

As a parole agent, McCausland said the regional drug epidemic made an impact and has indeed become “a problem that needs to be worked with” with police and other cooperating agencies.

“And the rural areas seemed to get hit first. Now, it’s just been a growing problem and has taken over,” McCausland said. “It doesn’t discriminate amongst anyone – it’s nearly affected every family in this county at some point.

“I got to know the signs and symptoms of it. I got to know how to work with (offenders) and try to get them on the road to recovery – which is very difficult.”

McCausland, who maintains an effective rapport with service and law enforcement agencies, became certified to perform the duties of a Magisterial District Judge in September after he passed a “very intense” 20-day course in Harrisburg this past June. He was also re-certified in December.

He pledged to treat all who enter his courtroom with dignity and respect.

“I am eager to serve the public at a Magisterial District Judge in Region 4 of Armstrong County,” McCausland concluded.

The couple lives on their family’s 65-acre farmland with daughters, Bethani and Kaitlin. Bethani also studies criminology at Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

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