Bill Kelly Jr. announced his candidacy for Erie County Common Pleas Court judge Thursday, hoping to fill the seat left vacant by the retirement of Judge Mike Dunlavey.
Speaking before a large audience that had gathered at the Intermodal Center, Kelly talked about his 22-year career as a lawyer in Erie, and says he hopes that experience will help convince voters that he can be "passionately dispassionate" in his role as judge.
Kelly comes from a long line of attorneys. His father Bill Sr. was a founding partner in the Elderkin law firm and his sister Elizabeth is a current judge.
"It was my father who instilled in me notions of fairness," he told us. "He was always a zealous advocate for his clients as I try to be."