Hardwick launches write-in campaign for Kingston/Edwardsville magisterial race

Bill Hardwick said Wednesday he has launched a write-in campaign in the Kingston/Edwardsville magisterial race.

The Kingston resident had filed nomination paperwork to appear as a cross-filed candidate on both party ballots in the May 20 primary but withdrew his candidacy due to a challenge over his failure to file a statement of financial interest with the county manager’s office as required by the State Ethics Act.

Hardwick said he read the filing instructions and thought he was in compliance because he attached his financial statement to paperwork filed with the county election bureau. However, he withdrew based on legal advice that judges could not rule in his favor because a missing filing is deemed a fatal defect.

Anthony Margavage was removed from the ballot in the Kingston/Edwardsville magisterial race due to a challenge over the same defect, which leaves Joshua Moses as the lone candidate appearing on both the Republican and Democratic ballots.

After reflection, Hardwick said he decided to mount a write-in campaign because he believes voters should have a choice when possible, and he is confident he would excel in the district judge post.

Hardwick said he wanted to run in 2017 when Paul Roberts announced he was stepping down from the bench, but he halted those plans after learning his friend and well-known attorney James Haggerty was seeking the post. Haggerty was elected in 2017 and won a second six-year term in 2023, serving until his death in March 2024.

Hardwick, 63, worked for 33 years at Offset Paperback in Dallas Township, advancing through the ranks to become vice president of quality and performance improvement, with responsibilities related to five U.S. plants, he said.

He holds several unpaid posts as a Wyoming Valley West School Board member, vice chairman of the Luzerne County Flood Protection Authority that oversees the Wyoming Valley Levee system along the Susquehanna River, president of the Back Mountain Federal Credit Union and president of the Hoyt Library executive board.

Hardwick said his philanthropic work is valuable and impactful, but he wants to “be involved in the community in a very different way” through the district judge post.

He already completed district judge certification classes and said the post’s responsibilities extend far beyond traffic court.

“The more I learned, the more I realized the importance of it and the importance of having a good person in the position — somebody with life experiences and somebody who is involved in the community,” Hardwick said.

Hardwick has switched his registration to Independent. He contemplated rounding up a new batch of signatures to appear on the November ballot as an Independent but decided running as a write-in now was the best option.

He plans mailers and other communications asking voters from both parties to write in his name, Bill Hardwick, along with instructions on the write-in process. He said he also will pursue the steps needed to seek credit for write-in votes cast under other variations of his name, such as William and Billy. Court petitions must be filed to seek credit for votes under different spellings, a process called cumulation.

Moses, 24, said during his announcement he is a Wyoming Seminary and Temple University graduate and currently a student at Brooklyn Law School in New York. He has worked his class schedule around his campaign and expects to receive the results of his bar exam in September, a prior report said.

The annual salary for magisterial district judges is currently $113,713, but that amount may increase for 2026, when those elected in 2025 take office.