Even the power brokers seek appointed judges
Pa.'s judicial elections take cash and cachet. Two lawmakers want change.
By Marcia Gelbart
Inquirer Staff Writer
Mayor Street calls it "awful" and U.S. Rep. Bob Brady says it is "ridiculous."
The "it" is how Pennsylvania - and hence, Philadelphia - elects its judges - a system that puts a premium on fund-raising, political cachet, race and sex, but not on whether candidates are the best qualified for the job.
Now, as 44 candidates vie for 12 Philadelphia court vacancies in the May 17 primaries, momentum for change is building - and it's coming from the power brokers who have for years influenced election outcomes.
"I'm told I elect judges... . That is the hand that was dealt me as party chairman 20 years ago," said Brady, the Democratic City Committee's chairman.
He was referring to the time-tested truism that the surest way to become a judge in Philadelphia is to have the official backing of the Democratic Party.
But Brady is frustrated that "too many people get hurt by it... people mortgage houses" to raise funds for required expenses. He says he is open to shedding control over who gets to wear the long black robes in Philadelphia.
So is Street. "The process today serves as a huge disincentive of attracting certain people to the bench," the mayor said Thursday.
Their position reflects what State Sen. Anthony Williams (D., Phila.) called "a major paradigm shift" among the political elite in their willingness to consider replacing judicial elections with appointments made by a nominating committee.
"The ones in charge of the party mechanism see the process has spiraled out of control," Williams said. "There's some issue of integrity, undoubtedly, and a lot of issues about competence and skill."
Pushing for change that could affect judicial races in 2009, Williams and State Sen. Vincent J. Fumo (D., Phila.) are writing a bill that would amend the state Constitution to require appointment of Philadelphia's Common Pleas and Municipal Court judges. The legislation likely will be introduced next month, Williams said.
"It's not that we don't get qualified judges. We do. But it's despite the system, not because of the system," said Lynn Marks, executive director of Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts, which opposes judicial elections.
This primary day, voters will elect judges to fill eight Common Pleas Court vacancies, jobs that pay $130,591 each and last for 10 years. On Municipal Court, where judges serve six-year terms and are paid $127,139, there are three vacancies. And on Traffic Court, which also has six-year terms but salaries of $68,437, there is one vacancy. Candidates for Common Pleas and Municipal Court must be lawyers, while those in Philadelphia Traffic Court do not have to be.
Last month, Brady met at City Hall to discuss the Common Pleas Court vacancies with Street, Fumo, City Council President Anna C. Verna, and Council Majority Leader Jannie Blackwell. "I said, 'I am going to do four African Americans. I need you to understand that,' " Brady said he told his colleagues. "I always want the ticket to reflect the city population," he explained later.
The ticket he referred to was the ballot to be endorsed by the Democratic City Committee. Candidates who win this endorsement get their names printed on the paper ballots that the party sends to the city's 66 ward leaders to give to voters on Election Day.
Some candidates for Common Pleas Court, such as criminal-defense lawyer Leon Tucker, were rewarded with this support after donating years of free legal help to the party and ward leaders. Others, such as former public defender Joyce Eubanks, had help from political sponsors such as Councilman David Cohen, who backed her candidacy.
But the party endorsement has a price - literally. It's $35,000 - $10,000 more than eight years ago. Candidates are told that the money covers the costs of printing ballots to be handed out at the city's 1,681 divisions on Election Day, as well as expenses to get voters to the polls.
But making it onto the party ballot doesn't necessarily mean a candidate makes it onto a ward ballot. "They send it to ward leaders around the city, who promptly throw them out or put them in the basement," said one candidate who asked not to be identified, fearful it might hurt the candidate's chances.
So to shore up support in these low-visibility, low-turnout races, most candidates give about $1,000 or $1,500 to individual ward committees for "Election Day expenses," as well as $50 to $500 at fund-raisers held by individual ward leaders. That money also is said to be used to print ballots and pay other Election Day expenses.
But there are still no guarantees. For example, if a ward leader promises support, that may amount only to making available ballots containing the candidate's name for just a few hours on Election Day, or only in some voting divisions.
So to strengthen loyalties even more, many candidates buy "insurance," in the form of consultants who, for fees as high as $10,000 a candidate, help those seeking judgeships to navigate the political process. Those consultants include former State Rep. Pete Truman, a former Fourth Ward leader, and Carol Campbell, a current Fourth Ward leader. Both are from West Philadelphia; each one operates a consulting business. Another adviser is former City Councilman Leland Beloff, who was convicted in 1987 of conspiring to extort $1 million from the late Willard G. Rouse 3d, a prominent developer. Beloff served nearly six years in federal prison.
"You have people who have created a cottage industry out of getting judges elected," Street said. "The ward leaders have banded together, and they are requiring certain payments."
In the end, "It's a crapshoot of who gets on the bench," said Councilman Michael Nutter, also the 52d Ward leader.
The upshot is a frenzied but behind-the-scenes campaign.
"This election process of running for judge in this city is not for the faint of heart," said Ellen Green-Ceisler, who resigned to run for Common Pleas Court after heading the Philadelphia Police Department's integrity unit for the last seven years.
Green-Ceisler did not get a party endorsement. But there is an upside, she said. "If I win, I will know every single street and neighborhood at this point, and have a much better understanding of the people and the faces and the neighborhoods before me."
Said Norman Berson, Democratic leader in Philadelphia's Eighth Ward: "As long as we elect judges, there are going to be politics involved. There's just no other way."
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Contact staff writer Marcia Gelbart at 215-854-2338 or mgelbart@phillynews.com. |
