Ziccarelli ready for new job as Westmoreland County District Attorney

Nov. 3—Nicole Ziccarelli knows her successful campaign that ousted six-term Democrat John Peck is only the beginning. The hard part begins in January, when she takes over as Westmoreland County District Attorney.

"I'm glad I have two months to prepare," Ziccarelli said Wednesday, hours after she received more than 57% of the vote to soundly defeat Peck, who has held the office since 1994.

Ziccarelli finished more than 13,000 votes ahead of Peck, becoming the first woman elected as district attorney.

It's a job she knows will be difficult — but one she said she's ready to take.

"The voice of the county was resounding, and I now understand the county was ready for change and we have to respect that," Ziccarelli said. "I very much appreciate and respect the job (Peck) did. The campaign was not meant to be a criticism of him, but it was all about a need to modernize, to make a change."

Ziccarelli, 40, of Lower Burrell capitalized on a strong Republican showing at the polls that saw GOP candidates sweep all four county row office jobs on the ballot and score victories in state judicial races and local contests for councils and school boards.

According to unofficial results, Ziccarelli finished well ahead of Peck in large swaths of the county, including Republican-heavy precincts as well as some traditional Democratic strongholds such as Arnold and Jeannette. Peck won his hometown of New Kensington along with Greensburg and Monessen.

Election night looked promising for Peck early on, as the first batch results from more than 12,000 mail-in ballots were heavily weighted toward the Democrats. As results from the county's 307 precincts rolled in, Ziccarelli narrowed the gap and eventually surged ahead. She declared victory shortly before midnight.

As of Wednesday afternoon, Ziccarelli, who worked as a private practice attorney who focused on family law, had yet to hear from Peck.

"I'm eager to talk to him and create a transition plan," Ziccarelli said, noting that she intentionally distanced herself from the district attorney's office during the campaign and will remain at arms length during the next two months. "The work of the office is ongoing and I don't want to interfere, but I want to be briefed about what's ongoing."

She will take over a district attorney's office in transition.

Three long-tenured assistant prosecutors either retired or moved on to other jobs over the last year. Two others were elected magisterial district judges on Tuesday and will leave the office. In addition to overseeing a staff of more than 20 prosecutors, Ziccarelli will also helm a detective's bureau that oversees major crime investigations throughout much of the county.

Peck served as the office's most prominent trial attorney and routinely appeared in the courtroom as the lead lawyer in many prosecutions. Ziccarelli said she will initially serve in a more administrative role and designate assistants to handle courtroom duties.

Peck briefly spoke early Wednesday morning and conceded defeat.

"She ran an excellent campaign and I congratulate her for her efforts," he said. "I can't feel disappointed and I feel gratitude I was able to serve the people of Westmoreland County as the district attorney and as an assistant district attorney for 40 years."

For Ziccarelli, Tuesday's win was a culmination of two years of campaigning. She narrowly lost in a bid to defeat state Sen. Jim Brewster, D-McKeesport, in a race not decided until mid-December following rulings by judges in Allegheny and Westmoreland counties that involved the validity of some mail-in and provisional ballots.

"It certainly is a tremendous accomplishment," Ziccarelli said of her victory. "But, it brings a tremendous responsibility."

Rich Cholodofsky is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Rich at 724-830-6293, rcholodofsky@triblive.com or via Twitter .