View short videos of each candidate for the Court of Common Pleas describing their courtroom experience and their views on alternative sentencing. - League of Women Voters of Greater Pittsburgh

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Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas

Candidate Video Gallery

In the Allegheny County Common Pleas race, there will be 13 Candidates running for 8 open seats. Voters in this race will be asked to vote for up to 8 candidates. The League of Women Voters of Greater Pittsburgh is providing this Candidate Video Gallery to allow you to hear from the candidates in their own words before making your selections.

We asked each candidate to submit a short video answering 2 questions:

1. How much courtroom experience have you had either as a lawyer or a judge, and what types of cases have you handled?

2. What types of alternative sentencing, if any, might you impose, and why?

There's a lot to keep track of in this race. Would a "scorecard" help?

Download one here.

The League of Women Voters of Greater Pittsburgh
Thanks All of the Candidates for Participating in our Candidate Video Gallery!

Candidates are listed in alphabetical order. They will appear in a different order on your ballot.

Candidates who are framed in blue won in the Democratic primary, candidates framed in red won in the Republican primary, and candidates framed in purple "cross-filed" and won in both primaries.

Why are some candidates listed as both Democratic and Republican?

Read more about "cross filing" here.

(D)
Heather Schmidt Bresnahan

(D)
Quita Bridges

(D/R)
Julie Capone

(R)
Alyssa Cowan

(D/R)
Anthony DeLuca

(D)
Amanda Green-Hawkins

(D)
Jaime Marie Hickton

(D/R)
Dan Miller

(R)
Bryan Neft

(R)
Jackie Obara

(D)
Matthew V. Rudzki

(R)
Michele Santicola

(R)
Sarra Terry

"Cross Filed" Candidates

"Why are some candidates listed in two parties?"

In races for Court of Common Pleas (and a few other local races, like school boards), candidates may file to run in both the Democratic and Republican party primaries. This is called "cross filing." Cross filing allows primary voters a wider choice of candidates in these races, which are considered non-partisan. It also gives candidates an increased chance of appearing on the November ballot.

Cross filing makes the ballot confusing, since party affiliation is an important factor for many voters. But, because the party listed on the ballot does not necessarily reflect a candidate's own political party, voters are encouraged to use other resources, like the videos and resources linked on this page, to make an informed decision.

To see your entire ballot, visit vote411.org

Hear even more from these candidates. Each candidate submitted

biographical information,
links to campaign websites and social media, and
answers to 3 more questions.

View their submissions online at Vote411.org ,
or download their responses in the Common Pleas Mini-guide .

Common Pleas Mini-guide

View or download

Direct link: www.lwvpgh.org/docs.ashx?id=1609994

The Allegheny County Bar Association's Judiciary Committee has reviewed these candidates and provided them with a rating of their qualifications. The ACBA ratings can be found at https://www.judicialvote2025.org/ratings

See more tips and resources for choosing a judge on our Judicial Candidates page, or in this "explainer".

Help Choosing PA Judges
https://www.lwvpgh.org/docs.ashx?id=1604545

Judicial Retention Candidates

Retention Questions
for Allegheny County
Court of Common Pleas

Seven Allegheny County judges have completed their current terms and are running for "retention". These retention questions will be at the bottom of the ballot, separate from the partisan races for open seats on the court.

Accordion Widget

What Is Judicial Retention? (click to expand)

Judicial retention is a way of re-electing judges without repeating the partisan competition and campaigning of a typical election.

In Pennsylvania, judges are elected to the state courts for 10 year terms. When judges are elected to a state court for the first time, they run in partisan campaigns and may compete against other candidates. Then, when their 10-year terms are over, they are up for retention. In a retention election:

No other candidates are permitted to run for the seat.
The judge's political party is not listed.
Voters are asked a simple yes/no question: Should we keep this judge for another 10-year term, or not?

This is meant to keep judges out of partisan politics as much as possible. It is very unusual for a judge to lose a retention vote.

Retention Questions for Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas

Shall___________be retained for an additional term as Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, 5th Judicial District, Allegheny County?

Hon. Edward J. Borkowski
Hon. Alan Hertzberg
Hon. Beth Lazzara
Hon. Jennifer McCrady
Hon. Hugh McGough
Hon. Dan Regan
Hon. Dwayne Woodruff

How can you evaluate retention candidates?

Judges who are up for retention do not have campaigns or participate in forums or candidate guides, which makes it even harder to find information about them. But, they are rated by the State or County Bar Association.

The Allegheny County Bar Association (ACBA) has rated all of the retention candidates for Common Pleas Court.

The ACBA recommends a "Yes" vote for all Allegheny County Common Pleas Court retention questions. ACBA Ratings 2025

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