November 2–9, 1995

cover story

The Supreme Challenge

Frontrunners Newman and Nigro may bring Philadelphia two new seats on the Supreme Court.

By Mary Frangipanni

It's 6 a.m., an ungodly hour to be up on a nippy October morning, but Sandra Schultz Newman, the Republican candidate for the Supreme Court, is bouncing along in a small four-seater plane on her way to a campaign stop in Erie. The roar of the engines is deafening, but Newman does not seem bothered. She is wide awake and chats enthusiastically.

With good reason.

Newman is on her way to the AFL-CIO breakfast in Erie County. She is the only Republican in the state to receive the endorsement from this labor union, which traditionally has favored Democratic candidates.

Newman is picked up at the airport by Rich Hudic, a campaign staffer who is coordinating the middle of the state, and is whisked off to the AFL-CIO Union Hall in fabulous downtown Erie, which bears a strong resemblance to Camden. Erie's claims to fame are Tom Ridge and plastics. Newman passes on the scrambled eggs and cornbread buffet and gets to the business at hand, her speech.

She opens with what could almost be construed as an apology to the Democratic union assembled — that yes, she is a Republican and when you move to Montgomery County, everyone is a Republican.

In her speech, Newman appeals to the basic work-ethic mentality; she is originally from 29th and Reed in Philadelphia, she has worked all her life, and she has never known what it was like not to work.

"I grind my teeth at some of the Republican ideals now, such as taking away the prevailing wage, take away Medicare, take away the Social Security, so I certainly stand here and I would like to say to you that I wish that judicial candidates did not have to run on a party basis. Judges should not be political."

Newman concludes with an appeal to her audience to come out and vote. She represents the working-class people, she says, assuring them, "I am here for you."

In a crowded union hall in Northeast Philadelphia, Russell Nigro, a Democratic candidate for the Supreme Court, thanks Democratic ward leaders and committeepeople for their efforts and looks forward to Nov. 7, when he hopes Democrats will win the entire ticket. Mayor Ed Rendell, who was hosting the evening's activities, grabs the mike and expounds on how tough it is to get a Philadelphian elected to a statewide job like Supreme Court justice.

"It is not going to be easy for Russell to win because he is from Philadelphia. And let me repeat that, it is not going to be easy for Russell to win because he is from Philadelphia. Russell's chances... for winning will go up dramatically if we can get turnout. If the turnout is 20 percent, Russell is a cooked goose. If it's 30 or 35 percent, he's in the game and if it's 45 to 50 percent, he wins and it is as plain and simple as that."

Later in the evening, Nigro, a fit 49-year-old whose dark good looks have been mentioned as a campaign plus, seems fatigued after a long day on the bench (he heard 64 cases). Nigro, a Philadelphia Common Pleas Court judge, talked about his campaign. "I have hundreds of volunteers spread out all over the state and one paid staff person who coordinates the western part of the state. I have a great organization in Philadelphia and a great group of dedicated people."

So why should Philadelphians care about who sits on the state Supreme Court? A court that meets a mere seven weeks a year. A court whose most well-known justice earned his notoriety through an addiction to prescription drugs.

What's at stake now that Philadelphia has the chance to put not just one, but two natives on the state's highest bench?

Ask Ed Rendell.

"If you don't think it matters in your life, that a Philadelphia judge get on the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, then you're dead wrong," he told the crowd at the Northeast gathering. "It matters in dollars and cents. A court decision about five years ago said that the state should pick up the cost of our courts; $100 million. If Russell gets on the court — and he's not allowed to say it, but I will — we could get those court costs back and with $100 million we could hire 1,700 new police officers in the Philadelphia police department. So get out and vote."

This, boys and girls, is how you become elected to the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania is one of seven states that still elects its judges, the Appellate Court as well as the lower courts. A judicial candidate must tour the state, woo voters, and raise an enormous amount of money in order to run an effective statewide campaign. Currently, there are two openings on the Supreme Court due to the retirement of Nicholas Papadakos and the impeachment of Rolf Larsen. Sandy Newman is running on the Republican ticket, along with Lackawanna County District Attorney Michael Barrasse, and Russell Nigro is running on the Democratic side along with Pittsburgh Common Pleas Court Judge John Musmanno.

Newman and Nigro lead grueling schedules on an almost daily basis. Judicial candidates are limited as to what they can discuss while campaigning; they are not allowed to comment on how they would rule on a particular case, and because of the delicate nature of the office they seek, they are also limited in their method of campaigning. Unlike city or other state races, judicial candidates only attend orchestrated events where they are invited to speak. For example, do not expect to see them lobbying for votes by going door to door. And there has always been a wink-and-nod arrangement surrounding the aspects of judicial fundraising, especially the fact that attorneys are often their biggest contributors.

Judicial candidates, especially those who are running for the Appellate Court, are forced like any other candidate to raise an enormous amount of money to cover the cost of getting their campaign message across. Races for the judiciary are not the most exciting and rarely create voter interest; candidates appeal to their legal colleagues for contributions because they are usually the only ones who are interested. This can cause a conflict if the candidate becomes a sitting judge and his former contributor appears before him with his client in court.

Sandy Newman drives through the remote countryside of the western part of the state, on her way to an AFL-CIO lunch in Mercer County.

Newman, a vivacious 56, was the assistant district attorney in Montgomery County from 1972 until 1974 , and then went into private practice as senior partner in the law firm of Aster, Weiss and Newman. In 1993 she ran for and won a seat on the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania on the Republican ticket.

Why does she want to run for the Supreme Court?

"Well, first of all it was a big decision," says Newman "I felt I was not changing careers; it's not like I'm running for governor or senator — I will still be a judiciary. I think the Supreme Court really needs change and I could make a difference."

While Newman, like all judicial candidates, cannot discuss issues, one obvious fact about her is that she is the only female in the all-male Italian-American lineup of Barrasse, Musmanno and Nigro. "I should change my name to Sandy Newmano," jokes Newman.

However, ethnicity aside, does the fact that she is the only woman help her?

"A lot of women have encouraged me to run, although I have not made a platform out of the fact that I am a woman. But the fact is that the Pennsylvania Supreme Court is the oldest court in the nation, it is 67 years older than the United States Supreme Court, and never has a woman been elected to that court."

Not that women haven't tried.

"One of my friends, Anita Brody, ran both in 1988 and 1989. She was a Montgomery County Common Pleas Court judge when she ran," says Newman. "The boys didn't want her in. She ran against a good-looking Italian man, a Democrat from Pittsburgh. In that race, word was that a Republican from the southeastern part of the state could never beat a Democrat from Allegheny County. Anita was advised to not waste her time in Pittsburgh because it can't be done. And that is basically what I was told when I ran for Commonwealth Court in 1993; don't waste your time in Pittsburgh, you can't win there. Well, I was the first Republican to beat a Democrat from Pittsburgh."

Other women who have run for the Supreme Court were Philadelphia Common Pleas Court Judge Lisa Richette. Mary Alice Duffy and Kate Ford Elliott ran in 1993.In the most recent primary, Pittsburgh judge Doris Smith and Philadelphia judge Carolyn Temin ran. The late Anne Alpert was appointed to fill an interim term on the Supreme Court, and then ran and lost, and Anita Kidstout was appointed to fill an interim term also but did not seek to run for election later.

Though the gender barrier has yet to be broken, Newman will clearly tell you that she is running on her qualifications, not her sex.

"I have been very careful not to make a point of the fact that I am a woman. I don't want to be elected because I am a female, but I also don't want to be not elected because I am a female," she says.

As she speaks, the car passes a large "Newman for Supreme Court" lawn sign on a grassy knoll on the side of the road. Her campaign staffer Hudic comments that the Newman campaign made the local news. A local crime incident on the highway had attracted media coverage, and while the TV reporter was doing his standup, the camera captured the Newman sign plastered to a nearby tree.

While Sandy Newman was out to beat Democrat Joseph Mystic from Pittsburgh in her race for Commonwealth Court in the 1993 general election, Russell Nigro was fighting his own battles against his Republican opponent, former Philadelphia District Attorney Ron Castille. There was only one vacancy that year due to the death of Justice James McDermott.

It has been said that 1993 should have been the year for Nigro. Castille was not the chosen favorite; he had vacillated on his run for mayor in 1991 and had lost to Frank Rizzo in the primary. Having had to resign as district attorney to run for mayor, he was in a nowhere position; even the Republicans were saying he was not Supreme Court material. Nigro, on the other hand, had a reputation as an outstanding judge on Common Pleas Court. He designed and implemented the Arbitration Appeals Program, which disposed of some 3,000 cases backlogged since 1977. As a result, no new arbitration case will wait for more than a year to be resolved. In addition, Nigro served as chairman of the Staffing Committee for the Philadelphia court system. In this position he determined the staffing needs within the inter-departmental units of Common Pleas Court, which led to streamlining personnel needs and a saving of some $8 million in taxes.

Just before the 1993 general election, Nigro and Castille participated in a live cable debate at the Mummers Museum in South Philadelphia. Nigro had committed to the debate immediately, but Castille was reluctant, saying that the show was airing in South Philadelphia, which was Fumo's territory. It was and still is no secret that State Senator Vincent Fumo helped Nigro then and is helping him now. Whether being backed by Fumo is a negative in a statewide election remains to be seen.

It will be interesting to see how Nigro will do in the western part of the state. John Musmanno is from Pittsburgh, and it is expected that he will do as well there as Nigro is expected to do here, in his home town of Philadelphia. Ian Murray, who is the Democratic chairman of Erie County and chairman of the Northwest Caucus, feels that Nigro will do very well in western Pennsylvania. "We all like Judge Nigro out here," says Murray. "He won Erie County by 4,000 votes and led the ticket in this past primary. In the 1993 general election, he beat Castille here by 17,000 votes. We should not allow the Republicans to go out and buy elections. The mood in the state now reflects clear-rooted Democratic principles."

Both Newman and Nigro are considered to be the frontrunners in the Supreme Court race. Both are sitting judges who have been rated "highly recommended" by the Pennsylvania Bar Association and have have received numerous endorsements from both local and statewide organizations. The fact that Newman is the only female in the race gives her an added advantage, and she is running a well-funded campaign. Nigro has heavy statewide appeal and support.