MERCER COUNTY Lawyer to seek election to bench

St. John worked as a district attorney's investigator and a legal assistant before earning his law degree.
CLARK, Pa. -- Atty. Christopher J. St. John, a partner in the law firm of Rowley, Wallace, Keck, Karson & amp; St. John in Greenville, has announced that he will seek election to Mercer County Common Pleas Court this year.
The state Legislature created a fourth judgeship for Mercer County, and sitting Judge Michael Wherry has indicated he won't seek retention, creating a second judicial vacancy.
St. John, 50, said he plans to cap off his legal career by continuing to serve the county citizens as a common pleas judge.
He has been an assistant county public defender for nearly two years and is both a civil and criminal litigator in his private practice. He said his extensive experience will enable him to make a quick and efficient transition to the court bench.
St. John said he also has appeared in court regularly as an advocate in various proceedings, which provides him with a working knowledge of the rules of civil and criminal procedure.
He hasn't held public office before and said he will cross-file for nomination on both the Republican and Democratic tickets.
Experience
He is a solicitor for the Mercer County Industrial Development Authority and the townships of West Salem, Pymatuning, Greene, Perry, Deer Creek and Sandy Lake and has served both as an arbitrator and litigator in legal proceedings.
He has participated in several murder and major felony cases.
He is licensed to practice law before the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, the Pennsylvania Superior Court, the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court and all Pennsylvania common pleas courts.
He has served as editor-in-chief of the Mercer County Law Journal for the last five years and is on the board of directors of a number of community organizations, including John XXIII Homes Inc. and Tushim Manor Inc.
He is president of the Greenville Lions Club, a Third Degree Knight of the Knights of Columbus and a member of the Legion of the Loyal Order of Moose.
He is a member of both St. Michael's and Notre Dame churches and has served as a young women's softball coach since 1991.
Education
St. John is a 1970 graduate of Kennedy Catholic High School, attended John Carroll University in Cleveland, and earned a bachelor of science degree in law enforcement and corrections from Pennsylvania State University in 1974.
He worked as an investigator for the Mercer County District Attorney's Office and as a legal assistant for a Washington, D.C., law firm before going back to college to earn a law degree from Cleveland-Marshall College of Law at Cleveland State University.
He and his wife, the former Cynthia L. Ridenour, live in Clark and have two daughters.