South Philly Review

As November rolls in, so does the General Election. Three former residents are eyeing a spot on the bench, while another is looking to retain her position. The Court of Common Pleas has seven vacancies; the Municipal Court has four. Also, 15 judges in those courts are running on non-partisan tickets. Polls will be open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Nov. 3.

Adam Beloff, 44, a Center City attorney, finished sixth, receiving 6 percent of the vote, in the May primaries Court of Common Pleas race. Now, the former resident of Sixth Street and Snyder Avenue, moves to the General Election.

"If I can have a say, I would implement a custody-neutral assessment program to lighten the impact on children in custody disputes ... I would also look into merging the custody and support dockets, which would, in my humble opinion, eliminate any backlog and reduce the expense to the court system," the Northeast resident said in May.

Also on the Common Pleas ballot is Judge Angeles Roca, 54, a former resident of 13th Street and Washington Avenue. Gov. Ed Rendell appointed the 1973 St. Maria Goretti High School alum to the Domestic Relations Division last year. In May, Roca finished second with 8.8 percent, and third with 16 percent of the vote in her cross-ticket bid in the primary Democrat and Republican races, respectively.

"[If elected], you're going to get someone who was born and raised in Philadelphia and who understands our community," the Northern Liberties resident said at the time of the primaries. "Someone who is fair. Someone who is impartial."

Joseph C. Waters Jr., a 31st and Tasker streets native, finished second with 16.4 percent and fourth with 22 percent of the vote in the Democratic and Republican races, respectively, for the Municipal Court primaries. The 56-year-old worked 22 years as a police officer, including a few in the 4th District during the '70s, but now has his own law practice in Center City.

"We need to elect people to that position who can tell the difference between a bad guy and a good guy who is having a bad day," the St. Gabriel School, 2917 Dickinson St., and '71 Bishop Neumann graduate said before the primary.

Beloff, Roca and Waters all will run on both tickets Tuesday.

Former 28th and Dickinson streets resident Kenneth J. Powell Jr. withdrew from General Election July 15 after finishing third with 22.4 percent of the vote in the Republican primary.

Running for retention in the Court of Common Pleas is former 17th and Porter resident Judge Annette M. Rizzo, 51. Appointed by then-Gov. Tom Ridge in '98, the Center City resident has served 11 years on the bench. The St. Monica and Philadelphia High for Girls alum serves in the Civil Division and has headed the Residential Mortgage Foreclosure Diversion Pilot Program, which assists homeowners facing the loss of their home.

"I think the track record speaks," she said Monday of why voters should retain her as judge. "I've been dedicated with all my service and particularly this mortgage foreclosure ... This mortgage foreclosure has really been direct outreach to the public and hopefully has done some good to all the neighborhoods."

Among the other races are the District Attorney's seat with Democrat Seth Williams facing Republican Michael Untermeyer, as well as incumbent City Controller Alan Butkovitz going up against Republican Al Schmidt.