Right now, Omar Sabir, the chair of the Philadelphia City Commissioners, is a busy guy.
So is my friend Kadida Kenner, CEO of the New Pennsylvania Project and co-chair of Why Courts Matter-PA, a non-partisan advocacy arm of the New Pennsylvania Project’s Educational Fund whose mission is to help maintain the independence of Pennsylvania’s courts.
Now, why, you might ask, are these people so busy?
They’re busy because on Nov. 4, Pennsylvanians are scheduled to go to the polls and vote for judges across the state and in the case of Pennsylvania, the City’s Controller, and District Attorney. Right now, Sabir and Kenner are just two of the people across the commonwealth that are doing all they can to get Pennsylvanians in general, and Philadelphians in particular, to register to vote and go to the polls to make their voices heard.
And to be honest, they’re working hard to get people out because there’s a lot at stake in this election. Campaign cash of all kinds has been poured into the race for Pennsylvania Supreme Court. Three of the judges in the Democratically-controlled court — Christine Donahue, Kevin Dougherty and David Wecht — are up for retention.
This is important because the Supreme Court has issued rulings on such things as abortion rights, civil liberties and…election shenanigans. So, the group that makes up the majority in the Supreme Court has a lot of power.
On the city side, the high-profile office up for grabs is District Attorney. Incumbent Larry Krasner is taking on his Democratic primary opponent, former Judge Pat Duggan, who is running as a Republican in the general election.
If successful, Krasner, a former defense attorney, would be serving his third term in the office. What little people have heard from Duggan on the campaign trail makes the argument that Krasner is more interested in turning the District Attorney’s office into a social service agency rather than one that brings criminals to heel.
The last time these two men took to the debate stage, it was during the primary back in May. There’s been no talk of debates, or even campaigning, since.
Now, if you’re reading this on Monday, Oct. 20, this is the last day that you can register to vote in Pennsylvania.
Admittedly, I can see why the prospect of having to deal with any of these electoral possibilities might be a little too daunting for you to handle.
I mean, hey, I cover this stuff and I sometimes have to fight to pay attention to it. Covering judicial races is hard because judges can’t actually campaign due to neutrality concerns. And it’s also hard to cover campaigns like the District Attorney’s race because modern campaigns seem to care more about staying on message than they do sharing what they really intend to do should they win the office.
But getting to the polls and making your voice heard is really important. Think of your vote as your Permission To Complain card. Participatory democracy only works if you, well, participate.
Please take a moment to do that on Nov. 4. You’ve gotta practice for the 2026 Midterm Elections, right?
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