More than a dozen state and local judicial candidates are advancing to November’s general election after winning their party nominations in competitive primaries Tuesday.
Philadelphia voters also approved a slate of ballot measures aimed at approving oversight for a pair of municipal departments and setting aside additional dollars for affordable housing.
Attorney Maria Battista bested Chester County Court of Common Pleas Judge Ann Marie Wheatcraft, who was endorsed by the Pennsylvania GOP, in the statewide Republican race for Superior Court judge.
Battista will take on Washington County Court of Common Pleas Judge Brandon Neuman in November. Neuman was unopposed in the Democratic primary.
In the other Republican state appeals court contest, Erie attorney Matt Wolford defeated fellow lawyer Josh Prince for Commonwealth Court. Wolford will appear alongside Democratic Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas Judge Stella Tsai, who was uncontested, in the general.
At the local level, all nine candidates backed by the Democratic City Committee for the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas – Will Braveman, Leon A. King II, Larry Farnese, Brian Kisielewski, Irina Ehrlich, Anthony Stefanski, Deborah Watson-Stokes, Sarah Jones and Kia Ghee – emerged victorious.
“I think the most important thing is to be fair,” Ehrlich told Metro on Tuesday while setting up campaign signs at Columbus Square Parker in South Philadelphia.
Ten candidates were running for nine positions, and Taniesha Henry fell short of the nomination.
Party endorsements play a key role in judicial contests, as a significant number of voters utilize sample ballots and other political pamphlets passed out by Democratic committeepeople outside polling places.
But at least one hopeful that did receive the local Democratic Party’s support in the Municipal Court Race was not nominated.
Five candidates were running for three spots on the ballot, and Amanda Davidson, Sherrie Cohen and Cortez Patton received the most votes Tuesday. The Democratic City Committee backed Davidson, Patton and Shawn Page, who finished fourth. Qawi Abdul-Rahman came in at the bottom of the pack.
No Republicans filed paperwork to run for the Court of Common Pleas or Municipal Court.
Incumbent Democrat Christy Brady and the GOP’s Ari Patrinos ran unopposed in their respective party’s primaries for City Controller.
Nearly 85% of Philadelphia voters selected “yes” on a question about whether the city should have an ombudsperson for the Office of Homeless Services.
City Council Majority Leader Katherine Gilmore Richardson, who introduced legislation to get the measure on the ballot, said Wednesday in a social media post that the ombudsperson will “serve as a champion on behalf of unhoused residents and ensure they receive timely and quality services.”
“When I started this process after my years-long investigation into how Philadelphians were navigating our city’s homeless services system, I found that for many, overcoming the hurdles in being placed in shelters and receiving the support and services they really needed seemed nearly impossible,” she added.
Voters also OK’d a measure mandating that the city increase its contribution to the Housing Trust Fund, matching an amount paid by developers to allow them to increase density without adding affordable units.
Councilmember Jamie Gauthier’s office has said that the payments are supposed to go toward boosting funding for affordable housing; however, the money has not always been allocated that way. Gauthier was the primary sponsor of the legislation.
In addition, a jail oversight board and office were authorized in Tuesday’s primary. The mechanism will replace an advisory board that advocates have argued lacks authority, transparency and independence.
The Philadelphia Department of Prisons has been under the supervision of a federal court after inmates filed a class action lawsuit over poor conditions early in the coronavirus pandemic.
“With this vote, our city has sent a clear message: we will no longer look away from the unacceptable conditions faced by incarcerated people and prison employees,” the Defender Association of Philadelphia said in a statement Wednesday. “This result reflects years of planning, organizing and advocating for transparency and accountability.”
For more details about the results of the election, go to vote.phila.gov/results and electionreturns.pa.gov.
