BOTH PARTIES JUDGE NOMINEES

Seventeen candidates sought four Democratic nominations for 10-year terms as Common Pleas Court judges yesterday.

First-time candidates Michael Erdos and Alice Beck Dubow managed to grab nominations while also securing spots on the Republican ticket.

With 96.25 percent of the vote counted, Linda Carpenter led the Democratic field with 74,772 votes, while Dubow had 62,334 votes, Ellen Green-Ceisler had 45,500 votes and Erdos had 44,511 votes.

On the Republican ticket, Joseph Murphy Jr. and Joyce Eubanks also secured spots on the November ballot, with 12,211 votes and 7,126 votes respectively.

Dubow, heading to her victory party with her mother, recently retired State Superior Court Judge Phyllis Beck, behind the wheel of their car, said she had always enjoyed public service. She served in the city's Law Department when Gov. Rendell was mayor.

"To me, this is really the ultimate way of doing public service," Dubow said. "I hope to bring to the court a sense of fairness and a sensitivity to the community."

Erdos has spent the last 10 years in the district attorney's office, most recently running the Public Nuisance Task Force.

"Having worked, fighting for public safety for so many years, I realized the influence that judges can have," Erdos said. "One judge can only do so much, but many judges can do a lot to make our legal system better."

This is Green-Ceisler's second run for judge, an often arduous task that she said serves as a calling for many attorneys.

"It's just something you feel inside of you," said Green-Ceisler, who directed the Police Department's Integrity and Accountability Unit for five years.

"You feel you can do a lot of good. To go through what you have to go through, you have to really want it. That's why, in the end, so many good candidates make it. You really have to have a fire in your belly."

Carpenter, who has practiced law for 18 years, was unavailable for comment last night. The Common Pleas Court post pays $152,115 a year.

In the races for two open seats in Municipal Court, Democrats Joseph O'Neill led with 64,713 votes, while Jacquelyn Frazier-Lyde was in second with 47,355 votes.

Of the two Republicans, Joseph Murphy Jr. led with 12,976 votes; Joseph Waters Jr. took second with 10,158 votes. Municipal Court posts, with six-year terms, pay $148,596 a year.

In the Democratic race for three open Traffic Court seats, crowded with 15 candidates, Willie Singletary led with 46,979 votes, followed by Robert Mulgrew with 41,805 votes and Mike Lowry with 39,864 votes.

The three Republicans secured spots on the November ballot, led by Scott Cummings with 12,289 votes, Bernard Strain with 9,733 votes and Frederick Mari Jr. with 9,713 votes.

Traffic Court posts, with six-year terms, pay $79,934 a year. *