Fifteen people will face each other in November’s general election to win a seat on Allegheny County’s Court of Common Pleas, according to unofficial elections results reported late Tuesday. With nine vacancies out of 43 positions on the bench, this year’s judicial election has a chance to change the makeup
/ Lisa Middleman says voters embraced a more diverse bench, with new ideas about criminal justice
A bid to reshape Allegheny County’s approach to justice appeared to make real headway on Tuesday evening.
Nine seats were up for grabs on the County’s Common Pleas Court, and unofficial early results showed a reform-minded set of hopefuls were poised to capture five of them. They were: Allegheny County Controller Chelsea Wagner; attorney and former Magistrate Judge Wrenna Watson; local attorney Nicola Henry-Taylor, defense attorney and former District Attorney candidate Lisa Middleman, and Duquesne University clinical law professor Tiffany Sizemore.
The other four top Democratic vote-getters were Sabrina Korbel, Elliot Howsie, Bruce Beemer, and Jessel Costa.
Voters on Tuesday will have the chance to impact the Allegheny County Common Pleas Court’s future as nine seats are up for election. Thirty-nine candidates are vying for 10-year positions on the bench. Judges earn $189,794. Although there is a large slate of candidates this year, it’s not even close
Allegheny County Courthouse With nearly 40 candidates running for nine open seats on the Common Pleas Court of Allegheny County, this election cycle offers a paramount opportunity to remake the county’s criminal justice system. Common Pleas Judges are responsible for overseeing trials for criminal, civil, and family cases and delivering sentencing. They can also be a part of doling out, or withholding, cash bail. Their discretion can reform the court.
Pittsburgh City Paper has chosen to highlight four different categories of endorsements and/or rankings for this year’s judicial candidates: legal, political, reform, and LGBTQ. The legal rankings come from the Allegheny County Bar Association and have four different results: highly recommended, recommended, not recommended at this time (which means candidates could be recommended later, but aren’t currently), and unqualified.
PA House of Representatives
State Representative Ed Gainey won the endorsement of the Allegheny County Democratic Committee in his bid for mayor of Pittsburgh Sunday, holding off a spirited challenge from Tony Moreno.
Incumbent Bill Peduto, who both men hope to beat on May 18, did not seek the endorsement. But moments after his 326-224 win, Gainey said the endorsement “speaks volumes. This is the first time I can [remember] them endorsing an African American to be mayor of the city of Pittsburgh. This is just more momentum, he added. We’ve got to unite this city … in the best way possible, and I’ve done that my whole career.”