Mary Kilgus

Williamsport attorney Mary C. Kilgus has announced she is running for Judge of Common Pleas in Lycoming County.

Kilgus said she feels a need to help the community.

She is seeking the bench seat occupied by Judge Richard Gray, who is retiring.

Noting her qualifications to be a judge, Kilgus pointed to years of experience as a prosecutor in the Lycoming County District’s Attorney’s office and private practice.

“I have the benefit of having worked hundreds of jury trials,” she said. “I was a prosecutor from 2006-12, and I did eight trials a month. Since leaving public service work, I have done civil work. I am a litigator. I know the rules of evidence. I think that would benefit me as a judge as well.”

She noted her work in helping abused children and other victims of crimes. She said she’d like to take that work further by implementing programs in the county that can help victims.

“I feel called to help and to take the bench and right some of the wrongs that have been done,” she said.

Kilgus said too often minorities receive the stiffest sentences for crimes.

“The rules are not applied equally in the community. They need representation on the bench,” she said.

In addition to her legal background, she pointed to her education in public policy and public administration.

Her success as a prosecutor and dealing with child sexual assaults and rape culminated in her nomination for Women of Excellence by Wise Options for Woman in 2013.

“Really, that it my proudest achievement so far,” she said.

Kilgus has been a member of the Lycoming County Bar for 12 years.

She graduated from the University of St. Thomas, and holds a law degree from William Mitchell College of Law. She also holds a master’s degree in Public Administration from the University of Southern California and is pursuing her Ph.D. in Public Policy and Administration at American University in Washington, D.C.

She serves on the board of Firetree in Williamsport and as a judge in collegiate mock trial at Pennsylvania State University contests, and has been awarded North Penn Legal’s Fair Share Award for pro bono legal assistance each year she has been in private practice.