Photo: The current PA Supreme Court. The May 18 Primary Election hosts a variety of races for DA, City Comptroller, and many of Pennsylvania’s courts… The new PA Supreme Court may weigh such critical issues as voting rights and election districting,
Information on Judge Candidates
By Ted Behr
The line on the May 18 Primary Election ballot in Philadelphia of great interest to most voters is the race for the party nominations for the next District Attorney. But there is a raft of party voting on our state justices and local judges, and four important ballot questions that all registered voters can decide on. For the DA primary and for the judges, the election is “closed” unless one is a registered voter for one of the two major parties. The four ballot questions are “open,” and any voter can express a preference.
For many voters who are not legal professionals, the evaluations and ratings of the Philadelphia Bar Association and the Pennsylvania Bar Association are helpful in guiding their choice. These ratings are based on the candidates’ responses to detailed questionnaires and on interviews by Bar Association members. In the listings below the bar associations’ ratings of “Highly Recommended” (Highly Rec) or “Recommended” (Rec) are shown following each candidate’s name.
Justice of the Supreme Court (statewide – 10-year term) is the state’s highest court and has only one seat to fill.
Democrat (vote for one)
Maria McLaughlin (Highly Rec by PA Bar Assoc.)
Paula Patrick (Highly Rec by PA Bar Assoc.)
Republican (vote for one)
Kevin Brobson (Highly Rec by PA Bar Assoc.)
Patricia A. McCullough
Judge of the Superior Court (statewide – 10-year term) hears appeals in criminal and civil cases from the Courts of Common Pleas and sometimes cases involving children and families.
Democrat (vote for one)
Jill Beck (Rec by PA Bar Assoc.)
Timika Lane (Rec by PA Bar Assoc.)
Bryan Neft (Rec by PA Bar Assoc.)
Republican (Vote for one)
Megan Sullivan (Rec by PA Bar Assoc.)
Judge of the Commonwealth Court (statewide – 10-year term)handles appeals from verdicts by lower PA courts.
Democrat (vote for two)
Lori A Dumas (Rec by PA & Phila Bar Assocs.)
Amanda Green Hawkins (Rec by PA Bar Assoc.)
David Lee Spurgeon (Highly Rec by PA Bar Assoc.)
Sierra Street (Rec by PA & Phila Bar Assocs.)
Republican (vote for two)
Drew Crompton (Rec by PA Bar Assoc.)
Stacy Marie Wallace
Judge of the Court of Common Pleas is the city’s general trial court with original jurisdiction over most civil cases.
Democrats (vote for eight):
Wendi Barish (Rec by Phila Bar Assoc.)
Terri Booker
Rick Cataldi
Michele Hangley (Highly Rec by Phila Bar Assoc.)
Chris Hall (Highly Rec by Phila Bar Assoc.)
Maurice Houston
Nick Kamau (Highly Rec by Phila Bar Assoc.)
Craig Levin (Rec by Phila Bar Assoc.)
Cateria R McCabe (Rec by Phila Bar Assoc.)
Mark J Moore (Highly Rec by Phila Bar Assoc.)
Patrick J Moran
John R Padova (Highly Rec by Phila Bar Assoc.)
Daniel R Sulman (Rec by Phila Bar Assoc.)
Caroline Turner (Rec by Phila Bar Assoc.)
Betsy Wahl (Rec by Phila Bar Assoc.)
Tamika Washington (Rec by Phila Bar Assoc.)
Judge of the Municipal Court: The 27 judges hear trials for some misdemeanors, summary offenses, and felonies for criminal, civil and traffic cases
Democrats (vote for three)
Michael C Lambert
Barbara Thomson
George Twardy (Rec by Phila Bar Assoc.)
Greg Yorgey-Girdy (Highly Rec by Phila Bar Assoc.)
Election Judges and Inspectors: Judge of Election and Majority and Minority Inspectors administer voting at the polls on Primary and General Election days at the city’s 1,703 local division and precincts (must reside in their division).
The source for the above information is the “Procrastinator’s guide to the May 2021 primary election in Philadelphia” by Max Marin, Layla A. Jones, and Michaela Winberg dated May. 02, 2021, released online by the BillyPenn organization. The Globe Times takes no responsibility for the information other than what was provided by BillyPenn at:
