Thirteen Court of Common Pleas and five Municipal Court judges are on the retention ballot this November, including Gwendolyn Bright and Stephanie Sawyer.
The Philadelphia Bar Association’s Commission on Judicial Selection and Retention has recommended 13 local and five higher court judges for retention in November’s general elections. The association has been offering candidate recommendations for over 40 years, helping guide voters on retention in the city’s Municipal Court and Court of Common Pleas, as well as Pennsylvania’s Commonwealth, Superior, and Supreme Courts.
“Our Commission members and investigative volunteers have worked for months to consider the qualifications of each retention candidate in light of their performance on the bench,” said Philadelphia Bar Association Chancellor Katayun I. Jaffari in a press release announcing the recommendations. “We encourage voters to use our ratings for both first-time and retention candidates to ensure that qualified candidates are elected in November.”
### Recommended Judges for Retention
The Bar Association recommends the following Court of Common Pleas judges for another 10-year term:
– Gwendolyn Bright
– Ann Butchart
– Michael Fleming
– Christopher Mallios
– Walter Olszewski
– Ouriana Papademetriou
– Tracy Roman
– Stephanie Sawyer
– Susan Schulman
For the Municipal Court, the association endorses the following judges for another six-year term:
– David Conroy
– Henry Lewandowski
– Wendy Pew
– T. Francis Shields
All five statewide retention candidates also received recommendations from the Bar Association.
### The Evaluation Process
The Bar Association determines its recommendations through a thorough process involving questionnaires, writing samples, and interviews conducted by volunteer investigative teams. Over 100 volunteers, including community members, participated by conducting at least 20 interviews per team with individuals connected to the candidates.
The Judicial Commission directly interviewed each candidate and evaluated them based on 11 criteria, using secret ballots to finalize the recommendations.
### Not Recommended Candidates
Only two local candidates, Daine Grey for Court of Common Pleas and Jacquelyn Frazier-Lyde for Municipal Court, were rated “Not Recommend.” Additionally, three Common Pleas judges—Scott DiClaudio, Hon. Frank Palumbo, and Lyris F. Younge—did not participate in the evaluation process and were also rated “Not Recommended.”
### Importance of the Ratings
“Every election matters, and our commission’s ratings are often one of the only nonpartisan sources of information about candidates running for judge at the local level,” said Matt Olesh, chair of the Campaign for Qualified Judges. “Recognizing the importance of this year’s retention elections for Pennsylvania Supreme Court and the widespread attention the races are receiving, we also felt it was important to promote the Pennsylvania Bar’s nonpartisan ratings for statewide retention candidates. Voters deserve information sources that look beyond politics and at the objective qualifications that these judges bring to their work.”
The Bar Association’s “recommended” candidates in May’s primary for Common Pleas all advanced to the general election. However, a spokesperson noted they will not offer recommendations on candidates running for the one open seat in each of the Commonwealth and Superior Courts since these are not “Philadelphia-based candidates.”
### Community Reactions
“The Bar Association’s evaluations give voters a clear, trusted look at who is qualified to serve on the bench,” said Lauren Cristella, CEO of the Committee of 70. “It’s striking that five judges are rated ‘Not Recommended’ for retention this year, and that should matter to all of us. We urge Philadelphians to take these ratings seriously — they’re one of the best tools we have to ensure a fair and accountable court system.”
—
**Stay informed and connected — subscribe to The Philadelphia Tribune NOW! [Click Here]**
—
**Community Comment Guidelines:**
– Keep it Clean: Avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist, or sexually-oriented language. Please turn off your caps lock.
– Don’t Threaten: Threats of harm will not be tolerated.
– Be Truthful: Do not knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
– Be Nice: No racism, sexism, or any form of degrading -ism.
– Be Proactive: Use the ‘Report’ link to flag abusive posts.
– Share with Us: We welcome eyewitness accounts and background on articles.
—
**Event Highlight:**
The Philadelphia Tribune hosted its 2025 Most Influential African Americans event on the evening of Thursday, September 18, 2025. This event celebrates and honors Black Philadelphians making a significant impact across the area.
https://www.phillytrib.com/news/local_news/familiar-names-on-judicial-retention-recommendations-list-for-november/article_0d181326-a0b2-4e07-96e4-8ec5d4e49505.html