Centre County swears in newly elected officials

After many months of campaigning and hard work, 12 elected county officials saw the fruit of their labor as they were sworn into office early Monday at the Centre County Courthouse.

It was standing-room-only in the main courtroom as family, friends and supporters came out to back their favorite candidates. The officials ran the full range of offices: a judge, county commissioners, row officers and a sheriff.

The swearing-in was presided over by judges Thomas Kistler, Pamela Ruest and Jonathan Grine. Kistler opened the event by saying it was not only a happy day for all those elected, but also for their families and supporters in the community.

The day marked the culmination of the election process, he said, supporting the officials who put themselves out to the public so they could continue to serve the government and the residents of Centre County.

“Many candidates were not successful,” Kistler said, “but had the same desire and yearning to serve. Our county is very lucky for those who have been elected and for those who have offered themselves for office.”

Many of the officials were flanked by family members upon their swearing in, and most brought their own Bibles with them to swear on.

Ruest swore in Judge Katie Oliver first, who joined the three judges for the remainder of the ceremony. Kistler then swore in: District Judge Tom Jordan; county Commissioners Michael Pipe, Mark Higgins and Steve Dershem; Controller Charles Witmer, Sheriff Bryan Sampsel; Treasurer Richard Fornicola; Prothonotary Debra Immel; Recorder of Deeds Joe Davidson; Register of Wills Christine Millinder; and Coroner Scott Sayers.

Kistler recognized not only those taking office, but also those who were leaving after many years of service, acknowledging former Judge Charles Brown, Sheriff Denny Nau and Register of Wills Kim Barton.

After the ceremony, Oliver said she was feeling terrific and was excited to start her new role. She added that she was looking forward to adopting new programs to improve the efficiency of the court and help members of the community.

One of these programs involves more comprehensive mediation for civil cases, she said. As a mediator with the federal courts since 2007, she said she has a lot of experience being a mediator and representing clients in mediation.

Oliver replaced Judge Bradley Lunsford, who pulled out of the election in September.

Higgins said his election to commissioner didn’t quite feel real yet, but he was looking forward to the work. He said he would keep to his campaign points of economic development and transparency in the commissioners office.

“We definitely want people to be more engaged in county government,” he said, “because as I was talking to the 11,000 citizens, a lot of them don’t exactly know what the county does. And the county does a lot.”

Sampsel said he was thankful for the work former Sheriff Nau had put in and wasn’t looking to change too much right away. One of his first goals is to introduce stun guns to the sheriff’s department.

While not county officials, Kistler said the event was opened to members of the Bellefonte Borough Council to swear in their elected members. He welcomed council members Renee Brown, Douglas Johnson and Joanne Tosti-Vasey.

Tosti-Vasey, who is newly elected to the council, said she has been on the support side of swearing-in ceremonies before, but was thrilled to be on the other side this time. She too pledged openness and transparency for the council.

“I want to be able to see whatever we do in town for development, it fits with our history,” she said. “It helps keep the downtown vibrant.”

This story was originally published January 4, 2016 at 2:00 PM with the headline "Centre County swears in newly elected officials."