HARRISBURG, PA., DEC. 1 (Reuters) - Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett's administration on Thursday pressed a state judge to approve a receiver for the financially distressed state capital of Harrisburg.

Judge James R. Kelley did not announce if he would approve David Unkovic, who has ties to several of the city's largest creditors. Kelley has 30 days to act on the request.

Harrisburg, a city of 50,000 residents, has accumulated $317 million in debt largely because of the refinancing of upgrades of a trash-to-steam incinerator. The City Council petitioned for a Chapter 9 municipal bankruptcy in October but this filing was rejected by the court in late November.

Most of the hearing focused on Unkovic's past relationships with what now are Harrisburg creditors. Unkovic said he does not have any financial interest with the companies involved and is not being paid by nor does he work for any of the firms in question.

His primary goal, he said, is "to bring the city back to a good financial condition and to work respectfully with elected city officials and stakeholders."

He also said he would turn to the court if he encounters any potential conflict of interest as the city's receiver.

Unkovic worked for 27 years at the Saul Ewing law firm, which is representing Assured Guarantee Municipal Corp. in its fight to have Harrisburg pay what it owes on bond finance deals related to the retrofit of the incinerator.

He also worked for three years with Cozen O'Connor, where he was bond counsel on behalf of Dauphin County, another major player in the incinerator project. Cozen O'Connor is representing the Corbett administration in its petition to have Unkovic named as Harrisburg's receiver.

An attorney for Harrisburg Mayor Linda Thompson, who did not favor the city's bankruptcy filing, raised no objections to Unkovic's qualifications.

(Reporting by Mark Shade)

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