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Register of Wills Mary Jo Poknis running for third term

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Mary Jo Poknis, Washington County register of wills, announced she is seeking re-election for a third four-year term in the office.

Poknis, 59, has been employed in the office for 20 years, starting as a clerk typist in 1994.

The title of the officeholder also includes clerk of orphans’ court.

“Helping people and being accessible is something I strive for,” she said in a news release Monday. “I enjoy my job. Being an active register of wills gives me the opportunity to interact with the public, their attorneys, the judges’ staff and my own staff.”

The register of wills office is responsible for maintaining probate records, guardianships and adoptions with records dating to the late 1700s. The office also issues marriage licenses for the state and is a collection agency for the Department of Revenue inheritance tax division.

“Due to the overwhelming increase in the use of my office because of oil and gas interests, I am embarking on a digitization project that will not only preserve the old records but will make them available to the public via the Internet and the courthouse public computer network,” she said.

Poknis was named as a defendant in a suit filed in 2013 by a couple seeking to legalize gay marriage in Pennsylvania, but was later dismissed from the case. Once a federal judge ruled, striking down a law prohibiting same-sex marriage, then-Gov. Tom Corbett chose not to challenge the federal court decision.

Poknis is a member of the Washington Chapter of the Council of the Democratic Women, Ave Maria Women’s Guild, Primo Lodge 2800 Italian Sons and Daughters, Mon Valley Regional Chamber of Commerce and the Croatian Fraternal Union of America.

Married with two daughters, Kate and Stephanie, Mary Jo and her husband, Steve, reside in Fallowfield Township. She is a graduate of the former Mon Valley Catholic High School and holds an associate degree from Penn Commercial Business School.

“I still have energy and a desire to serve those who use this office,” Poknis continued. Experience, knowledge and respect are just some of the attributes I want to continue to offer.”

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