Congratulations to Philadelphia
Common Pleas Court
candidate Adam Beloff.
Congratulations to Philadelphia
Municipal Court
candidate Dawn Segal.
Congratulations to Philadelphia
City Controller
candidate Brett Mandel.
Editorial: Judicial endorsements- by Philadelphia Inquirer When voters size up the 33 candidates seeking nomination for 11 Philadelphia judgeships in the May 19 primary, they may well apply the usual uninformed criteria that often decide these races: candidates' names, gender, ethnicity, party backing, ballot position, slogan, or advertisements.
Trouble is, those factors have little to do with candidates' qualifications to sit in judgment on either Common Pleas Court or Municipal Court. Add the fact that these candidates have to fund-raise among lawyers who appear before them in court, and the system's flaws are obvious.
The flawed election process strengthens the case for switching to merit-based judicial appointments, with voters' getting a say through retention elections.
For now, voters have the first and last word on 10-year posts that, respectively, pay $158,000 and $153,000 a year.
One major deciding factor should be the ratings issued by the Philadelphia Bar Association, which puts dozens of volunteers to work conducting interviews and background checks.
Receiving the bar's "recommended" rating should be the minimum hurdle. That eliminates 10 candidates. (View the details at www.electqualifiedjudges.com.)
It's embarrassing that Democratic Party leaders endorsed two candidates rated "not recommended" by the bar. Voters would be within their rights to send U.S. Rep. Robert A. Brady (D., Pa.), the party chair, a message by not supporting anyone on his ticket.
Brady has been heavy-handed with the party's backing this year, suggesting that non-endorsed candidates drop out if they have any hope of getting on a future slate.
The goal is to elect independent judges, rather than rubber-stamp the backroom picks of party bosses. Here are The Inquirer's recommendations:
Common Pleas Court
Former corporate litigator DANIEL J. ANDERS, 40, was given an interim appointment to the busy Family Court in 2007. He describes himself as the city's "only openly gay judge" and strives to keep all bias from his courtroom.
ADAM M. BELOFF wants it known that he's not the Beloff from City Council who went to jail, but a distant cousin. The active family-law legal practice that Beloff, 44, has built with his fellow attorney and wife, along with charitable works and ideas to clear court backlogs, make him a good choice.
Bearing another well-known name, GREGORY A. COLEMAN, 61, served as chief of staff to his City Council president father and ran a bank branch before embarking on a legal career. In the face of recent judicial scandals, Coleman suggests sting operations would help keep judges honest.
With similar tenure as a lawyer, ROBERT P. COLEMAN, 51 - no relation - is highly rated by his peers and has extensive litigation experience. Workers comp, environmental law, and other complex litigation areas are his specialties.
With 13 years as a solo practitioner, JONATHAN Q. IRVINE, 42, could be considered a master of many things. Actually, he's served as a hearing master on truancy, adoption, delinquency, and protection-from-abuse cases. He worked as a drug company rep before Temple Law, then clerked in Philadelphia federal court.
Also an interim appointed judge, ANGELES ROCA, 54, ran a family-law practice for 12 years and now serves in Family Court. While she and her husband raised a family, Roca worked full-time and went for her undergraduate degree as a mid-career student. She earned her law degree from Villanova.
As another family-law veteran, DIANE THOMPSON, 60, also served as a master for the city courts in complex civil litigation cases and clerked for a Common Pleas judge. She maintains an active pro bono practice with women's advocacy groups such as Women Against Abuse.
Municipal Court
Many an alleged perp up on charges has stood before PAT DUGAN, 48, in the 11/2 years since he was appointed to this court. Dugan handles hundreds of preliminary hearings. The Iraq and Afghanistan combat veteran did criminal-defense and other legal work after Rutgers Law.
CHARLES HAYDEN, 52, chief counsel to U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah (D., Pa.), was a public defender, federal environmental lawyer, major-firm associate and in-house counsel with Waste Management. He's also served on the boards of civic, anti-crime, and health nonprofits.
Former chief assistant city solicitor DAWN A. SEGAL, 49, went on to a private practice handling a broad range of commercial litigation at a large insurer and several city firms. She did a stint in labor law for the U.S. Postal Service and has mediated cases as a volunteer in the city courts. The Temple Law grad's civic work on behalf of battered women included serving as board president of Women Organized Against Rape.
During a 21-year career earning captain's bars in the Police Department, JOSEPH C. WATERS JR., 56, cracked cases as a detective, probed allegations of police misconduct, and spent time in England as a Fulbright scholar examining London bobbies' use of force. Since his 2007 run for judge, Waters has continued to teach criminal justice at Community College of Philadelphia.
Editorial: Mandel for controller
The Democratic primary for city controller may barely register as a blip on Philadelphia voters' radar screens. But they should pay attention to the May 19 election in which incumbent Alan Butkovitz is taking his next step in seeking a second term.
A history of corruption and misspending makes it imperative for Philadelphia to have an aggressive, independent fiscal watchdog. Butkovitz has been that person at times, but he also has troubling shortcomings.
Offering a better chance for Philadelphia to move further away from the business-as-usual politics that too often leads to cozy deals that cost taxpayers more than they should be paying is BRETT MANDEL. He would bring a fresher perspective to reforming how City Hall spends the public's cash.
Mandel is the former executive director of Philadelphia Forward, a citizens' organization that promotes tax, government, and ethics reform. His election would put some additional distance between party politics and the way City Hall operates.
Butkovitz is a ward leader who has the backing of the city's Democratic establishment. Elected in 2005, he made headlines with scathing audits that revealed an apparent attempt by then-School District CEO Paul Vallas to hide a $200 million deficit. But Butkovitz has left people wondering why other city agencies with questionable spending practices have seemingly been given a pass.
It also continues to weigh on some voters' minds that, as a state legislator representing the Northeast, Butkovitz voted for the hefty pay raises that lawmakers gave themselves in 2005, and then refused to refund the money.
Mandel says he will fulfill a requirement of the controller's office that Butkovitz continues to leave undone - audit every city department annually, not just those agencies whose scrutiny might involve some political calculation. Mandel would carry out his agenda by using review teams and a staggered audit schedule.
Having worked in the controller's office under Jonathan Saidel, Mandel has a good grasp of how the department operates. Lead author of the book Philadelphia: A New Urban Direction, Mandel says he would cut spending in the department, starting with elimination of its Office of Community Affairs.
That makes a lot of sense. While Butkovitz hails the community affairs office's ability to work with the public, that simply isn't a function of his department. The controller instead should be pointing out agencies that fail to do the public's work as they should. What's needed are more audits like the one that found Philadelphia's Emergency Medical Service units were late 40 percent of the time.
The third Democratic candidate is former Common Pleas Court Judge John Braxton, who was also on the 2005 ballot until being removed for failing to disclose some real-estate interests. It's understandable that Braxton wants another shot, but he isn't the best candidate in this field.
The winning Democrat will face Republican Al Schmidt, a former financial analyst, who has no opposition in the GOP primary.
Among the Democrats, Mandel offers the best hope of removing any doubt that the controller's sole motivation is to ensure that Philadelphians get their money's worth out of City Hall.
