Endorsed Dems leading for judgeships

THIRTY-THREE candidates who put millions of dollars in play vied yesterday for seven spots on the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas and four seats on Municipal Court.

The verdict: U.S. Rep. Bob Brady reasserted most but not all of his swagger as chief of the Democratic City Committee.

With 96 percent of the vote counted last night, five of the seven Democrats endorsed for Common Pleas Court by their party and three of the four Democrats endorsed for Municipal Court looked like winners headed for a sure-thing victory in November's election.

Brady laid down the law seven weeks ago to his ward leaders after a series of embarrassing political gaffes in previous elections where judicial candidates ponied up major money for the party's support, only to lose to unendorsed challengers.

Eleven endorsed candidates paid the party $35,000 for an "assessment" this year. That's a $385,000 party payday.

Many of the candidates also put up five or six figures of their own money to fund campaigns.

Five of the seven Democratic-endorsed candidates - Robert Coleman, Angeles Roca, Donna Woelpper, Dan Anders and Roxanne Covington - were winning with 96 percent of the vote counted.

But two unendorsed candidates, who enjoyed high-profile spots at the top of the ballot - Adam Beloff and Diane Thompson - were also leading.

Roca, appointed in October to an open seat in Family Court, and her husband put about $140,000 into this year's race. That's on top of about $90,000 they spent in 2007 on her last race. Roca said that her family was "absolutely worried" about that investment when unendorsed candidates are known to win.

"That was my retirement money," she said. "That was our nest egg."

Roca praised Brady for "unifying the party" to help her to victory.

Thompson, who predicted that she will have spent less than $35,000 altogether to win a spot on the November ballot, said that she could not wait for the party to endorse her since she had turned 60, which is 10 years away from the mandatory retirement age for Common Pleas judge.

"It goes to show it's the voters that count, not the party," Thompson said. "I've been a loyal Democrat all my life. I don't care if they didn't endorse me. So what? I went out and ran a clean campaign."

In the Municipal Court race, three of the candidates endorsed by Democrats - Charles Hayden, Joseph Waters Jr. and Pat Dugan - were heading to spots on the November general-election ballot.

Dawn Segal, who was not endorsed by the Democrats, said that her victory last night left her feeling "vindicated" but unsure about her future with her political party. Segal invested about $116,000 in her campaign, mostly on mailings, because she had been "shut out" of speaking in Democratic wards.

"This time they really clamped down," Segal said. "I think that was really going over the top."

Dugan, endorsed by the Democrats, was relieved last night after a "crazy" last-place win. Dugan had the last spot on yesterday's ballot, poor political real estate for a candidate, while Segal enjoyed the second slot on the ballot.

"Ballot position should not be the key to being a judge," said Dugan, who campaigned on his record while on the bench and while serving in the military. He also listed as a qualification on his Web site his hatred for the Dallas Cowboys.

To Dugan's shock, that's all he heard about from voters yesterday. The dig on Dallas was meant as light-hearted fun. Dugan said it probably saved his seat on the bench. *