Lower Valley district judge seat: Karaica earns Democratic nod; Girardi wins Republican nomination
For the Lower Valley district judge race in November, Mitchell Karaica secured the Democratic nomination, and Michael Girardi received the Republican nomination.
Girardi, 37, of Cheswick and Karaica, 50, of Springdale were both cross-filed for the seat currently held by David Sosovicka. Sosovicka is not seeking reelection.
With 100% of the vote in Tuesday, Karaica had 50.49% of the Democratic vote, compared to Girardi’s 48.93%. On the Republican side, with 100% of the vote in, Girardi had 63.33% of the vote, and Karaica had 36.34%.
Girardi is a practicing attorney and teaches law at Penn State New Kensington. He previously was president of the Cheswick Council and also was a commissioner for the Allegheny Valley Regional Police Department.
Karaica served as president of Springdale Council and works as a control room operator at Brunot Island Power Station.
District Court 05-3-03 covers Cheswick, Frazer, Harmar, Springdale and Springdale Township. The seat is a six-year term.
Kellen Stepler is a TribLive reporter covering the Allegheny Valley and Burrell school districts and surrounding areas. He joined the Trib in April 2023. He can be reached at kstepler@triblive.com.
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