Published: February 16, 2009 11:21 pm      

Cambria deputy seeks nod for district judge

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.