Superior Court

Colville is the Democrats’ more experienced choice

Apair of respected Common Pleas judges from opposite sides of the state are vying to ascend to Superior Court, a higher rung in Pennsylvania’s judicial ladder.

Alice Beck Dubow of Philadelphia and Robert J. Colville of Ross face off in the May 19 primary. In the fall, the winner will run against Republican Emil Giordano of Bethlehem, who has no primary opponent.

Ms. Dubow, 56, began her career as a Philadelphia assistant city solicitor; she later became a deputy city solicitor. For three years, she worked for the Wolf Block firm before joining Drexel University, where she became deputy general counsel. In 2007, she was elected to the Court of Common Pleas, where her cases have included abused and neglected children, personal injury and malpractice cases and criminal trials.

Ms. Debow hails from a distinguished family; her mother, Phyllis W. Beck, was the first woman elected to Superior Court in Pennsylvania, and her father, renowned psychiatrist Aaron T. Beck, developed cognitive behavioral therapy. Ms. Beck sits on the board of The Beck Institute near Philadelphia.

Mr. Colville, 49, joined the bench in 2000 and has served in both the family and civil divisions. In addition, he has been the toxic-substance case supervising judge in Allegheny County since 2003. There, he inherited a docket with some cases that had been languishing for nine years and has streamlined operations so that cases, primarily asbestos-related, come to trial in less than a year. Before joining the bench, he was an associate with the law firm of Pietragallo, Bosick & Gordon in Pittsburgh. He is a longtime officer and past president of the Pennsylvania Conference of State Trial Judges and has served on its judicial ethics committee. Most notably, since 2012, he has served on the Court of Judicial Discipline, which hears cases and makes rulings on charges filed against judges at all levels across the state.

Like his opponent, Mr. Colville has a name long recognizable in Pennsylvania courts; his father, Robert E. Colville, was on both the Court of Common Pleas and the Superior Court. (Mr. Colville quips that when he was asked to serve on the Court of Judicial Discipline, he replied, “Are you sure you’re not looking for my father?”)

Mr. Colville stands out among all statewide judicial candidates in the May 19 primary in one way: Unlike his unsuccessful 2009 race, he has forgone fundraising this time around and will use his own money (he hopes less than $10,000) for the campaign. He has yet to decide if he will do this for the general election if he wins nomination.

With regard to fundraising, Ms. Dubow expects to collect $300,000 and says it is necessary to communicate with voters, “otherwise they vote on gender and geography.” She says the election of judges has “some value,” because of the hardship it imposes on working attorneys and judges. “You get judges who really want to be judges,” she said.

That’s reasonable, but we are troubled by her assertion that she is the better candidate because she is more electable in November — ironically enough, because of gender and geography. In judicial races, in particular, we find that sort of appeal inappropriate and off-putting.

The Pennsylvania Bar Association rated Mr. Colville “highly recommended” for Superior Court, compared with Ms. Dubow’s “recommended.” The track records of the two candidates affirm that distinction. For his broader breadth of experience, including his work toward better judicial ethics and conduct, the Post-Gazette endorses Robert J. Colville.