Steering Committee recommendations to members for Judicial Endorsement
Reclaim Philadelphia’s Steering Committee recommends our membership endorse the below mentioned Judge candidates in the 2021 Democratic Primary. Reclaim Philadelphia’s Steering Committee used information made publicly available by the Judge Accountability Table, a non-partisan coalition which Reclaim is a founding member of. You can find the questionnaire responses from all the candidates here. The Judge Accountability Table also hosted a 2 day candidate forum: watch day 1 here and day 2 here.
In 2017, Reclaim Philadelphia’s members made their first endorsements of candidates for judge. That same year, Reclaim members endorsed Larry Krasner for District Attorney (ICYMI Reclaim Philadelphia members just endorsed DA Krasner for re-election). In that race, our movement made Larry Krasner’s (and one of the two judge candidates we endorsed) win possible by talking to our neighbors about how all of our lives have been impacted by the criminal legal system and being clear that the change we need in our city won’t happen by locking more people up—it will happen when the criminal legal system is transformed to undo the harm it has done to Black communities and communities of color.
It soon became clear that judges who oppose our efforts were blocking many of the reforms of the criminal legal system. The stakes are high in electing judges. Judges elected for long terms during low turnout elections. Few make an effort to educate voters on the stances judge candidates take and the Democratic Party uses this to their advantage, turning judge elections into a cash cow for themselves. Want to be elected? Pay the party bosses and wards large sums of money and you win! This system prioritizes candidates who are wealthier, whiter and more conservative and ensures that the status quo is maintained. We had a vision of doing this differently. Rick Krajewski, in his time as a Mass Liberation organizer for Reclaim, co-founded the Judge Accountability Table. The vision was simple yet bold: restore the power of the courts back to the people. We’ve been working to shift the terrain for judges, ensure that our community has a say in who has power over our lives, judge the judges and organize to recruit and elect judges who prioritize justice, healing and restoration. Collectively, we work to identify, challenge, and replace judges who will simply throw our loved ones in prison and prioritize punishment with no consideration for our humanity or healing that our communities so desperately need.
Today we find ourselves in a very different world, one in which so many of us are struggling to survive after a presidency that intentionally targeted our communities in every way. We are not safer than we were four years ago. Violent crime has increased across the United States in the past year. The rise bears no correlation to the policies of local prosecutors, but is the result of the compounding crises that Americans in general, and Philadelphians in particular, are experiencing: the lack of accessible, affordable housing; the high unemployment rate coupled with poverty-level wages; a deadly, year-long pandemic that rages unchecked; increased domestic and intimate violence; and continued austerity budgeting that leave people-centered government programs to subsist on starvation diets. Meanwhile, the events of this past summer, such as the violent tear gassing of West Philadelphia, have reminded us of the systemic contempt police departments have for Black communities. While our work has made a difference, we know it’s not enough.
Our communities deserve a judges who understand the path to justice means divesting from police, prisons, and state sanctioned violence—the very institutions of mass incarceration, derived from forces designed to uphold chattel slavery and supress organized labor. Instead, we must understand public safety in terms of housing, jobs, healthcare, food, and community.
Reclaim Philadelphia’s Steering recommends our members endorse the following candidates for Court of Common Pleas:
Caroline Turner
Cateria McCabe
Michele Hangley
Wendi Barish
Betsy Wahl
Nick Kamau
Dan Sulman
Christopher Hall
Steering Committee recommends Reclaim's member endorse the following slate of candidates for the Municipal Court:
Sherrie Cohen
Gregory Yorgey-Girdey
There are currently 3 seats open for the Municipal Court and 8 seats open for the Court of Common Pleas.
As Reclaim Philadelphia's Steering Committee looks to the future, we know that liberation from a system that has been terrorizing our communities by design will be just a little bit easier with judges who prioritize justice over punishment. To realize the systemic, transformative vision Reclaim Philadelphia fights for in our city, we ultimately need to continue to take power back from the system that makes prosecutors the arbiters of justice and establish a new system that prioritizes community, care, healing, and transformative justice. Reclaim Philadelphia’s Steering Committee sees ensuring the victory of these candidates as one step of many toward that future.
Voting for Reclaim Philadelphia endorsements for the judicial slate will commence today and continue online for one week. The results of the endorsement vote will be announced at the close of voting. Dues-paying members of Reclaim Philadelphia are eligible to vote in candidate endorsements.
Reclaim Philadelphia remains politically independent and is able to be bold in the endorsements and the campaigns we take on because of our members. We invite you to join us by becoming a member today!
In solidarity,
Steering Committee-
Adams Rackes
Aileen Callaghan
Anlin Wang
Lena Smith
Natasha Cahill
Steph Drain
Tammer Ibrahim