Parties add 2 to Pa. Superior Court candidates

More than six possible candidates had expressed interest.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania’s Republican and Democratic parties Saturday added a Pittsburgh lawyer and a Philadelphia judge to the newly enlarged race for the state Superior Court.

Republican Jacqueline Shogan, of Westmoreland County, and Democrat John Younge, of Philadelphia, both had been endorsed by their parties in the May 15 primary but lost that election.

Now, because of Saturday’s votes by the GOP and Democratic state committees, they will compete with the four nominees who won the primary for three open seats on the court. The three highest vote-getters in the Nov. 6 election will be the winners.

“Who would have told you on May 16 that I’d be standing here today?” Younge asked at the Democratic gathering in Camp Hill, drawing laughs as he marveled at the unexpected shift in his political fortune. “God moves in mysterious ways.”

How it came about

The unusual, post-primary nomination process was set in motion last month when Superior Court Judge Michael Joyce of Erie — under indictment by a federal grand jury on multiple counts of mail fraud and money laundering, and suspended from the bench by the state Supreme Court — announced that he plans to retire when his term ends in January.

More than a half-dozen prospective candidates expressed interest in seeking the nominations. But in the end, the only contest at Saturday’s overlapping meetings was the Republican showdown between Shogan and state Sen. Jane Earll at a Harrisburg hotel.

After a roll-call vote that was clearly in Shogan’s favor, but before the results could be announced, Earll withdrew and Shogan was nominated by acclamation.

Shogan, 54, a former nurse who spent 12 years in that field before becoming a lawyer in 1990, attributed her victory to her sustained efforts to reach out to Republicans in all 67 counties.

“They say all politics is local and you win your votes one person at a time.” she said. “I feel like every single person in this room now, regardless of whether or not they voted for me in this process, is my friend now. I’ve made that kind of effort.”

Earll, a 10-year Senate veteran from Erie County who was the GOP nominee for lieutenant governor in 2002, was endorsed by party leaders on the eve of the state committee meeting even though she announced her candidacy only a week earlier.

Earll said Shogan’s victory was the product of three years of campaigning and reflected a reluctance among state committee members to abruptly abandon Shogan because of the surprise turn of events.

“The support that she garnered when she locked down the endorsement back in February stayed with her,” Earll said.

Decided against running

Despite Gov. Ed Rendell’s open support for Younge, at least one other Democrat had held open the possibility of competing against him — fellow Philadelphia County Common Pleas Judge Anne Lazarus. She ultimately decided not to run, assuring state party

Chairman T.J. Rooney in a letter he read before the state committee that she did not want to “cause dissension within the party that I cherish.”

Young, 52, has been a Philadelphia County Common Pleas judge since 1995 and previously spent 10 years as a deputy director and general counsel to the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority.

The other Superior Court candidates are Allegheny County Judge Cheryl Allen and Dauphin County Judge Bruce Bratton, both Republicans, and Allegheny County Judge Ron Folino and Allegheny County lawyer Christine Donohue, both Democrats.

In the November election, Pennsylvanians also will fill two vacancies on the state Supreme Court.