If you had the chance to help change the future of our Commonwealth for the better, would you do it?
If I said you have that opportunity on Nov. 3, would you vote?
In just a few short weeks, you’ll have the ability to determine the very balance of the highest court in Pennsylvania.
Due to a variety of circumstances and scandals, we the voters now have the ability to choose the greatest number of justices at one time since the beginning of the eighteenth century.
The stakes couldn’t be higher.
At a time when everything from health care to redistricting is due to come before the court, we need justices who don’t view a spot on a statewide court as an opportunity to create, and not interpret, the law.
This year, we are lucky to have three extremely qualified individuals who share a deep respect for the law and who understand our judiciary is where the law is defended, and not developed.
Current Superior Court Judge Judy Olson has a background that’s steeped in excellence.
After finishing second in her class at the Duquesne University School of Law, Pennsylvania’s Judge Judy spent 27 years in private practice before her appointment to her local Court of Common Pleas. The Pennsylvania Bar Association has described her as a “keen legal thinker” while awarding her with their highest recommendation earlier this year.
She’s joined in the race by Adams County Court of Common Pleas President Judge Mike George. As a District Attorney, he earned a commendation from the Pennsylvania State Police for his successful prosecution of a terrible murder case.
George served on the Executive Committee of the Pennsylvania Conference of State Trial Judges, where he received a “Golden Crowbar Award” for his efforts to advance the judicial system.
Hailing from the eastern half of the state, Commonwealth Court Judge Anne Covey is best known as the presiding judge in Corman v. NCAA, in which she ruled that the $60 million fine recently levied on Penn State must legally remain in the Keystone State. A twenty-five year veteran of private practice, Judge Covey also remains active in her community as a youth sports volunteer.
In addition to the historic Supreme Court race, on November 3 we’ll also have the ability to elect members of our state Superior and Commonwealth Courts.
For the Superior Court, Judge Emil Giordano is a county Court of Common Pleas Judge with nearly two decades of experience in the private sector.
In his first year at the helm of his county’s Domestic Violence Section of the courts, he ensured the Section met all four of its state-mandated performance measures for the first time ever.
Commonwealth Court candidate Paul Lalley has experience working for our statewide appellate courts as a law clerk under former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Schultz Newman.
The father of two also recently received the highest recommendation of the Allegheny County Bar Association.
We have a once in a lifetime chance to change the course of Pennsylvania’s history. And I hope that you’ll join me on Nov. 3r in voting for a better Pennsylvania.
To read the full column by PA GOP Vice Chair Joyce Haas, please click here.
###