ALLENTOWN, Pa. — A longtime Lehigh Valley attorney is ascending to the Lehigh County bench.
Democrat Mark Stanziola defeated Republican Patricia Fuentes Mulqueen in the county judge’s race, according to unofficial returns from Tuesday’s election.
Stanziola captured 59% of the vote to Mulqueen's 41%, according to results that will remain unofficial until being certified.
Stanziola, an attorney for more than 35 years, is with the Allentown law firm Fitzpatrick Lentz & Bubba.
In May, Stanziola won the Democratic primary over Mulqueen and attorney Jenna Fliszar.
The Lehigh County judgeship is a new one approved by state lawmakers and brings to 11 the number of Common Pleas Court judges in the county.
Stanziola is a founding member of the Bradbury-Sullivan LGBTQ Community Center and established its legal clinic.
According to a bio on his campaign website, he has served on the executive committee of the church council at The Lutheran Church of the Holy Spirit in Emmaus, and was active with Pinebrook Services for Children and Youth, Pride of the Greater Lehigh Valley, and North Penn Legal Services.
He also previously served as a custody master in Northampton County Court, and as a custody hearing officer in Monroe County.
Mulqueen recently was promoted from chief of prosecutions to first assistant district attorney in the Lehigh County District Attorney’s Office. She previously served several years as an assistant district attorney in Northampton County.