So, if someone walked up to you and said they’d give you one hundred dollars if you could name at least six political seats up for grabs in the upcoming Tuesday, November 7, 2023, general election, would you win the money?
I think, sadly, that a lot of people would fail that quiz.
Let me help you out a little right now, just in case the scenario was to become your reality one day before November 7.
Here are the elected offices that must be filled: Mayor. We can only vote for one individual.
City Commissioner. We can only vote for two individuals.
City Controller. We can only vote for one individual. Register of Wills, we can only vote for one.
The Sheriff’s office is up for grabs. We can only vote for one individual.
There are a number of City Council At Large seats up for grabs. You can only vote for up to five individuals. The elected positions I just shared are all citywide races. Beyond that, there are district city council races, of which there are ten districts.
Some judicial seats must be voted on. Two candidates are running for Judge at the Superior Court level. You can only vote for one.
In Philadelphia Common Pleas Court, eleven people are running for retention, and in Municipal Court, seven people are running for retention. These are Judges who have already been voted into office years ago. The question is, do we want to keep them in office as Judges?
For the Court of Common Pleas, which is a citywide race, there are ten names on the ballot. We can vote for up to thirteen individuals.
For Philadelphia Municipal Court, which is also a citywide race, voters can vote for up to two judges, and there are three names on the ballot in that race.
Don’t forget about the races at the statewide level. There’s one seat open for Judge of the Commonwealth Court. Two candidates are running. There are two seats available for Judge of the Superior Court, and four people are running.
One seat is available for justice of the Supreme Court, and two individuals are running.
In upcoming Civics 101 columns, I will share the names of the various candidates who are running for election on November 7th. Today, I just want to remind you of what’s up for grabs. There’s also a question that will appear on the November 7 ballot.
For now, however, let me go back to the list of names of Judges running for retention in Philadelphia. One name is notably missing and that is the name of Judge Genece Brinkley, an African-American judge who has gained quite a bit of notoriety over her years sitting on the bench. It was just announced that Judge Brinkley has decided not to run for re-election in November.
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The following statement, “Joint Statement on Judge Genece Brinkley’s Decision Not to Seek Re-Election,” was shared with Scoop from Amistad Movement Power.
Common Pleas Judge Genece Brinkley’s decision not to seek re-election to the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas is said to be welcome news to Philadelphia’s social justice and abolitionist movements who have organized efforts calling for her resignation.
This decision effectively brings her three-decades- long reign of judicial incompetence and repression to an end. During that time, Judge Brinkley has consistently abused her power, intimidating, terrorizing, and punishing Philadelphia’s most vulnerable people and communities. Her reign as Common Pleas Judge has been characterized by the most egregious forms of moral, ethical, constitutional, and human rights violations – even by the standards of her own peers, who have publicly criticized her behavior on the bench, including Pennsylvania’s highest court.
Judge Brinkley’s ability to terrorize Philadelphians, unchecked for over thirty years, was made possible by the lack of transparency in the Philadelphia judicial election process. It is this reason why we must continue to work to dismantle a process that allows incompetent judges like Brinkley to win elections through backroom party deals. We must have judges who are committed to accountability and the best interests of the communities they serve.
This news stands as a victory for Judge Brinkley’s countless victims and our community as a whole. It proves that voters in Philadelphia value transparency and accountability over harshness and retribution. Moreover, this news demonstrates that when the spotlight is shined on injustice, the power of our voices, united, is effective in demanding the change we deserve.
Robert Saleem Holbrook, Executive Director of an organization called Straight Ahead, said, “Brinkley’s worst fear, in her own words, “was that voters would find out that she was inept, tainted by scandal, and unable to perform the duties of her profession.” The spotlight we brought on her exposed her incompetence and injustice to the people of Philadelphia, and rather than face accountability at the ballot box, like a coward,…
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