9 open Common Pleas seats attract large field of candidates
39 are vying for judiciary in Allegheny County
Thirty-nine candidates are vying for nine open seats on the Allegheny County Common Pleas Court in the May 18 primary, with advocacy groups and figures in the legal community calling the election a pivotal moment for the makeup of the bench.
The large number of available seats on the bench is due to retirements and resignations, the death of Judge John Zottola in October and two judges — Bruce Beemer and Elliot Howsie — who were appointed and are at the end of their terms.
Progressives see the opening of nearly a quarter of the bench as a way to push the courts toward new reforms and ideals, while some conservatives see a sizable crew of left-wing candidates pushing an agenda perhaps better suited for action by the state Legislature.
Many of them are vying for endorsements in some form in races in which it is difficult to stand out, due not only to the size of the pack but also because of a relatively unglamorous municipal primary following the high-turnout presidential election in 2020.
Some have sought endorsements through the most traditional of means: the Allegheny County Democratic Committee, whose influence and “slate cards” with a list of approved candidates can be crucial in a less-publicized election. Judicial candidates can cross-file — running in both the Republican and Democratic primaries — but the county Republican Committee is endorsing only one candidate.
And some are trying to promote themselves by seeking endorsements from other candidates or activist groups.
County Controller Chelsa Wagner is one of the few seeking endorsements from both groups, stressing that backing from county Democrats is highly valued in a lower-profile race.
She sought the approval of establishment Democrats and activist organizations because they represent both sides of her political history, she said. “I don’t think that they are, or that they should be, mutually exclusive,” she said.
Other candidates endorsed by county Democrats are Judge
Howsie, Sabrina Korbel, William “Bill” Caye, District Judge Tom Caulfield, Jessel Costa III, Judge Beemer, Wrenna Watson and Patrick Sweeney.
Some candidates eschewed the Democrats’ endorsement process entirely, however, such as Lisa Middleman, the longtime public defender who ran for Allegheny County district attorney in 2019 but lost to incumbent Democrat Stephen A. Zappala Jr.
She, along with Nicola Henry-Taylor and District Judge Mik Pappas, endorsed each other and sought approval from progressive groups because of the difficulty and cost of the party endorsement process.
“None of us sought the Democrat committee endorsement because we did not think that was the best way to utilize limited resources,” she said.
Many events of past year hang over the election, with the death at police hands of George Floyd in Minneapolis sparking a nationwide racial reckoning and a re-examination of the criminal justice system after months of protests in Pittsburgh.
While much of those conversations focused on police, the issue of racial disparities in the justice system also extend into the courtroom, said Tim Stevens, chairman and CEO of the Black Political Empowerment Project.
“It’s all related,” he said. “The judges often go with the opinion, the recommendation, of police.”
Adding more Black judges would make the judiciary more reflective of the community coming into the courtroom, Mr. Stevens said, giving Black defendants more faith in the system by seeing people who look like them. B-PEP does not endorse individual candidates.
Still lingering, too, is the fallout of misconduct charges against a former judge, Mark V. Tranquilli, who resigned after using racist language on the bench, referring to a Black juror as “Aunt Jemima” while speaking to two white attorneys in his chambers after a trial.
That incident and others outlined in charging documents led the Court of Judicial Discipline to sanction Mr. Tranquilli.
Bret Grote, a board member of the progressive group Straight Ahead, said Mr. Tranquilli’s case highlighted the furthest extremes of what he considers to be a culture within the Common Pleas Court and shows the need for change.
“It’s not surprising that those who are the chief administrators of this system, the judiciary, have become increasingly calloused” and “disconnected from those communities” such as minorities, poor people or those with disabilities who often appear before the court, Mr. Grote said,.
Along with the Alliance for Police Accountability, advocacy group 1Hood Power and UNITE PAC, Straight Ahead endorsed eight candidates: Judge Pappas, Ms. Wagner, Ms. Henry-Taylor, Ms. Middleman, Zeke Rediker, Giuseppe Rosselli, Tiffany Sizemore and Wrenna Watson.
In picking candidates to endorse, Straight Ahead wanted people who believed in such reforms as eliminating cash bail and reducing the population of jails and prisons, Mr. Grote said.
Sam DeMarco, chair of the Allegheny County Republican Committee, said he thought such reforms were beyond the scope of a judge and was concerned with how many candidates have vocally supported them.
Judges should act as umpires in the court, Mr. DeMarco said. “By that I mean they simply call balls and strikes on what the law is and don’t try to make law or legislate from the bench.”
He said he believes the number of candidates promising reform is “horrific.”
“For us, the minute someone even says that, [it] is an indication they’re unqualified to hold that office because that’s not the role of a judge,” he said. “If they want to change those laws, run for state Legislature.”
Mr. DeMarco said his committee is endorsing only one candidate: Joseph Patrick Murphy, the sole Republican running for a seat on the court. But he plans on recommending other candidates based on their experience and temperament. He named Judge Beemer, Judge Howsie, County Solicitor Andy Szefi and attorney Jason Cervone as people he thought would be good choices.
But for Mr. Grote, this election represents a chance to put people on the bench who could make a systemic difference in the county judicial system.
“This election is a rare opportunity to, in one fell swoop, change the entire trajectory of the court system in this county and the political culture going forward,” he said.
In rating the candidates, the Allegheny County Bar Association looked at some of the typical attributes a judge should have — respect, experience and temperament — while also seeking those with a broader view of the justice system, said the association’s president, Elizabeth Hughes.
Judges in the court’s family division have to understand various types of blended families, she said, and criminal judges need to be aware of life circumstances that cause people to become repeat offenders.
“I think you just have to be able to listen to people, delve deeper and understand some of the external complications when you’re looking at how to be an effective judge, because so many of the decisions you make are immediately impactful in individuals’ lives and livelihoods,” Ms. Hughes said.
The bar association has released initial ratings on many of the candidates and will release more later this month.
Other ratings stemming from prior elections are also set to be updated after more recent evaluations.
The candidates
The full list of candidates, with available ACBA ratings, are:
Bruce Beemer — highly recommended
Dean A. Birdy — no rating
Pauline Calabrese — not recommended at this time (prior rating)
Tom Caulfield — highly recommended
William “Bill” Caye — recommended
Jason J. Cervone — not recommended at this time
Jessel Costa III — no rating
Alyssa Cowan — highly recommended
Rosemary Crawford — recommended (prior rating)
Marc Daffner — recommended
Anthony DeLuca — highly recommended
Richard Thomas Ernsberger — recommended
Brian D. Flaherty — no rating
Mark Patrick Flaherty — no rating
Ryan O. Hemminger — not recommended at this time
Nicola Henry-Taylor — highly recommended
George Heym — highly recommended
Rick Hosking — no rating Elliot Howsie — highly recommended
Clint Kelley — no rating Daniel J. Konieczka Jr. — highly recommended
Sabrina Korbel — highly recommended
Brian Samuel Malkin -— recommended
Lisa Middleman — recommended
Joseph Patrick Murphy — no rating
Mik Pappas — no rating Chuck Porter — recommended
Zeke Rediker — not recommended at this time
Matt Rogers — recommended
Giuseppe Rosselli — recommended
Jimmy Sheets — no rating
Beth Tarasi Sinatra — no rating
Tiffany Sizemore — recommended
Patrick A. Sweeney — recommended
Andy Szefi — highly recommended
Albert Veverka — not recommended at this time
Chelsa Wagner — no rating
Wrenna Watson — no rating
Ilan Zur — recommended
“I think you just have to be able to listen to people, delve deeper and understand some of the external complications when you’re looking at how to be an effective judge, because so many of the decisions you make are immediately impactful in individuals’ lives and livelihoods.”
— Elizabeth Hughes, Allegheny County Bar Association president