ALBEMARLE — With the filing period now open for statewide races, Pat Nadolski, a Republican attorney, has filed to run for the state Superior Court’s Division 20A judicial seat.
Nadolski lives in Mount Gilead and has a long history working for the courts as an assistant district attorney for Montgomery and Stanly counties, the two counties represented in the district, and as the district attorney in Alamance County.
“The initial support of friends, neighbors and the local judicial community in both Stanly and Montgomery counties has been truly humbling,” Nadolski said in a press release.
Nadolski, a U.S. Army veteran, graduate from UNC Charlotte after his military service. He then earned his law degree from the University of Mississippi School of Law. He worked in the prosecutorial district representing Stanly, Union, Anson, and Richmond counties, becoming the chief assistant district attorney for Stanly County from 2002 through 2006. He moved the Alamance County district attorney’s office and was later elected as the Alamance County District Attorney, serving from 2009 through 2018.
“I want to uphold the rule of law and interpret the constitution as written for the citizens of Stanly and Montgomery Counties,” Nadolski said. “I want to make sure our courts are run efficiently and effectively in order to save hard earned tax payer dollars. I want to be a conservative, fair and impartial judge.”
According to his press release, “initial fundraising is going very well.” In January, Nadolski will be the keynote speaker at the Stanly County GOP’s meeting.
In 2018, the North Carolina General Assembly passed House Bill 717 that restructured the Superior Courts by increasing the number of judges from 92 to 98 and by decreasing the number of divisions from eight to five. Montgomery County, which had been in District 19B before this time, was joined with Stanly County into District 20A.
The 48 Superior Court districts elect their own judges for eight-year terms, but these judges then rotate within the state’s five regional divisions. District 20A is within the Third Division.
According to the N.C. Judicial Branch website, “The rotation system is provided for by the state constitution and designed to minimize conflicts of interest that might result from having a permanent judge in one district.”
The filing deadline for other candidates to join the race is Dec. 20.