Election 2019: Heaney announces candidacy to continue in Clerk of Courts position

Francine Heaney, Nesquehoning, has announced her candidacy for the two-year term of office as Clerk of Courts in Carbon County. She is currently serving in that position since being appointed by Gov. Tom Wolf and confirmed by the Pennsylvania Senate in October 2018.

Heaney is seeking the Democratic nomination for the position in the primary.

A lifelong Democrat, Heaney was the unanimous choice of the Carbon County Democratic Executive Committee to fill the seat vacated by last year by the retirement of William C. McGinley.

Heaney’s experience includes training in the Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania in 2006, where she became familiar with the Common Pleas Case Management System of the Administrative Offices of the Pennsylvania Courts. In 2012, she attended “Super Trainer” instructions in the statewide system that allowed her to update staff on new programs and to train new employees.

From 2006-13, as a clerical specialist in the Clerk of Courts office, Heaney’s responsibilities included the transferring of new cases electronically from the magisterial district justice offices and creating the files; creation of various miscellaneous cases; preparation and maintenance of court records; and preparation and processing of various document and forms for the court system, Pennsylvania Department of Transportation and other agencies.

For the past five years, before becoming the Clerk of Courts, she was an administrative assistant in court administration, where her duties included working with other court offices and personnel, as well as internal and with outside agencies, with the responsibility of scheduling all court hearings within the judicial system. In addition to attending court hearings, she also tracked the court cases and helped to implement any new training into the daily work routine.

From 1986-2006, Heaney worked as a medical, corporate and legal secretary.

The candidate is a 1983 graduate of Panther Valley High School. She is a daughter of the late William and Helen Damian and is married to Patrick Heaney. They have two sons, Ryan, married to Kristina Maurer, Patrick, and a grandson Finn.