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Democratic machine cleans up in judicial primaries

Party-endorsed candidates won at least 10 or 12 vacant positions on Philadelphia's three courts.

BOB BRADY was angry.

It was Election Day, and the congressman and Democratic boss was sitting in his 34th Ward office, in Overbrook. He just got his hands on a sample ballot being distributed by a ward leader who ignored the party's endorsements and was pushing his own ticket.

"It's a pure money ballot," said Brady, meaning that the ward leader, whom he wouldn't name, took money from candidates who didn't get the party nod but needed help. "It's a disgrace."

With record-low turnouts forecast for yesterday's primary, a few rogue ward leaders could cost the party a few judges. Brady got on the phone and ordered the City Committee troops to "flood" the ward "to send a message."

In the end, the message of Philadelphia's 2013 primary was clear: The machine is alive and well. Judicial candidates endorsed by the party went 3-for-3 in Municipal Court races, 3-for-3 in Traffic Court and at least 4-for-6 in Common Pleas Court. (At press time, two candidates were neck-and-neck for the final spot.)

Only Anne Marie Coyle, a family-law attorney and former prosecutor, defied the party's will. And it was no accident: Coyle, a third-time Common Pleas candidate, had top ballot position in the 22-person race, a huge advantage in low-profile contests in which voters often check the first box.

For advocates of abolishing Pennsylvania's judicial elections and establishing a merit-based system, the primary was case in point.

"Too often it's based on just chance, on money, on luck, on ballot position, and that's just not a way to make crucial decisions like choosing a judge," said Lynn Marks, executive director Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts.

That could be the reason so many of yesterday's victors have such close ties to Philly's ruling class: Traffic Court nominee Marnie Aument-Loughrey is the daughter of a ward leader; Municipal Court nominee Henry Lewandowski is a lawyer for the politically powerful electricians union, which runs a machine of its own; Traffic Court nominee Donna DeRose is the girlfriend of a ward leader; and Common Pleas nominee Dan McCaffery is the brother of a state Supreme Court justice.

Brady said the party ticket makes sure a diverse slate of candidates gets help.

"When I do a ticket - and I've been doing this for 20-something years - I take into consideration geography, gender, black, white, Hispanic, whatever," he said.

Aument-Loughrey's mother, 33rd Ward Leader Donna Aument, said the party gives preference to candidates who are active in their communities.

"These are the people who help the community," she said at a campaign event Sunday. "We try to make it as diverse as possible."