Longtime prosecutor and attorney Cindy Calarie has announced that she will be a candidate for Armstrong County District Attorney. As a Rural Valley native and life-long resident of Armstrong County, Calarie has devoted her career to protecting the residents of our community.
Assistant District Attorney Cindy Calarie announced she will run for District Attorney in this year’s election (submitted photo)
After graduating from Shannock Valley High School, Calarie went on to earn her Bachelor of Science in Criminal Law from The Pennsylvania State University. Calarie earned her Juris Doctor from Duquesne University School of Law in 1989 and began practicing law in Armstrong County as a public defender immediately after passing the bar exam.
In addition to serving our community as a public defender, Calarie practiced law privately.
For the past 28 years, Calarie has served the Armstrong County community through her successful private practice in various areas of law including family, oil and gas, real estate, elder and civil law. In addition, she has devoted herself to serving the community through pro-bono casework, and providing her expertise to non-profit agencies.
Throughout the past 18 years, Calarie has prosecuted countless criminal cases while serving as Assistant District Attorney in District Attorney Scott Andreassi’s office.
Calarie is currently the Vice-President of the Armstrong County Bar Association and has previously served two terms as the President. She is a member and former delegate of the Pennsylvania Bar Association, a member of the District Attorney’s Association and a former Armstrong School Board Director.
One of Calarie’s primary focuses is to address Armstrong County’s chronic opiate epidemic and to attack this crisis with alternative methods than those currently practiced.
“Despite the dedication and best efforts of law enforcement, the problem has continued to worsen,” Calarie stated.
Calarie believes that in addition to dealing with the opiate crisis, modifications can be made in the District Attorney’s office to help move criminal cases through the system more quickly and efficiently.
“There are changes that the District Attorney can implement to make sure that people aren’t waiting long periods of time for cases to be completed, Calarie said.
“We need to come together as a county to address this crisis. We need input from residents of the community, local leaders, service providers, law enforcement and addicts and their families, because nobody has all of the answers and we are all in this together.”
Calarie will be seeking the Democratic Party nomination for the office.
Calarie currently resides in Kittanning with her husband Frederick Rice, who has been an employee of the oil and gas industry for more than 30 years. She is a mother to five daughters and a grandmother to five young grandchildren who reside locally.
She also dedicates many hours to her community as an active volunteer and Chaplin for Elks Lodge B.P.O.E. #203, and is a former CEO of Manor Development, a nonprofit subsidiary of Community Action.