Doylestown Family Attorney Seeks Bucks County Judge Seat

DOYLESTOWN, PA — A longtime attorney in Doylestown with his own family law practice is seeking a soon-to-be vacant judge seat on the Bucks County Court of Common Pleas.

Robert Repko, a family law attorney since 2001, will run for the seat in the 2021 local election to replace embattled Judge Alan Rubenstein, who is retiring at the end of the year due to reaching the mandatory retirement age of 75 for Pennsylvania judges. He will celebrate his 75th birthday in March.

Experienced in family and criminal law, Repko has served as a Bucks County Public Defender Conflict Attorney and is the current solicitor for Bucks County Health Services. He runs his own family law firm, Repko Law, LLC, in Doylestown, primarily handling cases involving divorce, custody, support and protection from abuse.

Like many in his field, Repko's decision to become a family law attorney was heavily influenced by his own life experiences. When he was 12 years old, his father left the family, which set off a long, drawn out legal battle.

"I watched the legal system really fail my mom and my three siblings," Repko said. "My dad didn't always pay child support like he was supposed to. He manipulated the system over the ten years the divorce got strung out."

Now on the inside, Repko has seen how the court system has failed others, particularly in matters of scheduling family court hearings, a process that can drag on for several months.

"It's not fair to these families and these kids. These custody matters sit around in limbo, and with all the fear and anxiety and uncertainty that goes along with that, it's really a failure that our legal system does not make it a priority to resolve these things faster."

Repko said the matter could be fixed by allowing judges to maintain their own schedules instead of relying on a centralized calendar system.

As the husband and father of an interracial family, Repko said he has experienced "prejudice, racism and bigotry" through his wife and daughters.

Repko is one of six candidates who have publicly announced their bid for the judge seat in the November election. He has received endorsements from Bucks County Commissioner Diane Marseglia, State Rep. Tina Davis (D-Levittown), State Sen. Maria Collett (D-Bucks) and former Democratic congressional candidate Christina Finello.

Other candidates include Diane Magee, a Perkasie attorney and solicitor for the Bucks County Recorder of Deeds Office; Tiffany-Thomas Smith, a Newtown attorney with her own family law practice; Amir Stark, a family law attorney in Doylestown; Dawn DiDonato Burke, a Lower Makefield attorney; and Stephen Corr, a Warrington attorney.

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