{"id":22674,"date":"2017-10-05T10:04:24","date_gmt":"2017-10-05T14:04:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/chescotimes.com\/?p=22674"},"modified":"2017-10-05T10:04:26","modified_gmt":"2017-10-05T14:04:26","slug":"iacocca-hopes-to-keep-serving-community-as-district-justice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/?p=22674","title":{"rendered":"Iacocca hopes to keep serving community as District Justice"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Mike McGann<\/strong>, Editor, The Times<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Al Iacocca<\/p><\/div>\n

If you know Unionville or Kennett well, you\u2019ve probably bumped into Al Iacocca. Maybe more than once.<\/span><\/p>\n

The local attorney and fixture with various local civil groups is hoping to continue his service to the community as its next District Justice, which he sees as a logical extension of his current work with kids and the community throughout the Unionville and Kennett area over the past decade plus.<\/span><\/p>\n

Iacocca, a Democrat from East Marlborough, faces Republican Jane Donze for the open 15-3-04 District bench, based in Kennett Square, but covering virtually all of the Unionville and Kennett areas. While some might see running for District Justice as a stepping stone to higher political office or the bench of the Court of Common Pleas, Iacocca makes it clear he intends to go no further.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a one and done \u2014 well hopefully not one and done,\u201d he said, smiling, making it clear he had no ambitions beyond, hopefully, running for reelection if he wins in November. \u201cI\u2019m not interested in the next level..you know people are like \u2018Stepping stone\u2026\u2019 No. I\u2019m a community guy, I want to be a community judge. I want to be active in the community and be able to stay that way.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

As a newcomer to politics, deciding to run ultimately came from thinking he\u2019d be good at the job and be able to extend his good works in the community.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI believe I would do a very good job,\u201d he said. \u201cI think I’m well suited for the position and I have a lot of support from attorneys \u2014 they were complimentary.\u201d He admits to struggling with some aspects of politics \u2014 he suggests he\u2019s more of a ‘figure out what needs to be done and do it’ person, rather than someone who seeks a lot of credit, which doesn\u2019t always translate well when running for office. But, despite being new to politics, he sees the position as an opportunity to be of greater service to the community.<\/span><\/p>\n

“It\u2019s an empowering position for me to be able to do more in the community,\u201d he said. \u201cNot empowering for me to have the power of a gavel to tell people what they are or aren\u2019t going to do. I\u2019m not on a bully trip, I\u2019m not on a power trip. People that know me, know that.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Iacocca said a frustration for him has been the limits of practical campaigning \u2014 and that at times his history and intent are either misconstrued or worse, deliberately mischaracterized by others. Between his own door knocking and all of the folks in the community who know him, he hopes the real message gets out.<\/span><\/p>\n

Temperament matters on the bench, Iacocca notes. He hopes that folks who have gotten to know him over the years see him as a calm, even-keeled and consistent person, but also always approachable.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you ask what you see a judge being, I think it has to be someone people are comfortable with,\u201d he said, \u201cYou don\u2019t want someone who is in your face and is gruff and nasty and looking up there like you have to be mean, you want someone who is approachable and gentle, but firm.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

If elected, he hopes to spend time in local schools working with at-risk kids \u2014 working to steer them in the right direction before they end up appearing in his courtroom. And while he expects to serve all age groups, the focus on kids seems to be in his wheelhouse.<\/span><\/p>\n

Whether you\u2019ve seen him coaching for the Unionville Recreation Association \u2014 he is a passionate fan of basketball and has sponsored the league\u2019s basketball jerseys now for a number of years \u2014 or in his work for the Kennett YMCA, Hillendale PTO or Longwood Rotary or any number of other local groups, much of that focus, that give back to the community has been on kids, helping them to be physically more active and safer.<\/span><\/p>\n

Based on his background, that might not be surprising.<\/span><\/p>\n

In addition to being the father of three kids, Iacocca didn\u2019t rush into practicing law as an adult, opting for the somewhat less lucrative field of teaching initially \u2014 he had previously earned a masters degree in German Literature and went on to teach at elementary, high school and college level. <\/span><\/p>\n

Although a native of Pennsylvania \u2014 he grew up in the Allentown area \u2014 Iacocca points to time living in Germany, as well as in Virginia, Tennessee and North Carolina in helping him to develop a broader world view and perspective on both the community and the law.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ultimately, the law called to him. Having graduated magna cum laude from North Carolina Central University School of Law in 2001, he embraced his new profession with both gusto and skill. He currently runs a law practice in Willowdale \u2014 which he plans to shutter if elected. He has been admitted to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court Bar, as well as the Federal District Court of Eastern Pennsylvania Bar, but not surprisingly, spends much of his time representing local clients in area District Courts as well as a the Chester County Court of Common Pleas. <\/span><\/p>\n

He has also served as a Chester County Arbitrator for the past five years, hearing many different civil matters filed with the Court of Common Pleas.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Despite the demands of his professional career \u2014 not to mention his wife, a pathologist, and three school age kids \u2014 Iacocca has consistently found time to give back to his community. He served on the board of the Kennett YMCA and helped to found a traveling triathlon team (he has been a competitive triathlete himself), plus took a turn as Race Director for The Kennett Run, which raises money for various local charities. He is a member of Longwood Rotary and has served as Vice President and President of the Hillendale Elementary School PTO. He is also a Boy Scout troop leader. And, of course, has spend many years as a youth sports coach.<\/span><\/p>\n

His efforts in the community have not gone unnoticed. He was named Volunteer of the Year by YMCA of Brandywine Valley in 2010. Additionally, he and his wife Mary were honored with the E. Marshall Newton, III Good Kids Service Award in 2011 by the Kennett YMCA for their work with young people in the community.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times If you know Unionville or Kennett well, you\u2019ve probably bumped into Al Iacocca. Maybe more than once. The local attorney and fixture with various local civil groups is hoping to continue his service to the community as its next District Justice, which he sees as a logical extension of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22676,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[8559,5044,6269,364,611],"class_list":["post-22674","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-al-iacocca","tag-district-justice","tag-featured","tag-kennett","tag-unionville"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22674","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=22674"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22674\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22675,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22674\/revisions\/22675"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/22676"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=22674"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=22674"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=22674"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}