The 2025 Political Q&A Series: Sarra Terry, Candidate for Allegheny Court of Common Pleas

Judges serve the entire population of Allegheny County.  It is incredibly important that I speak to and seek out the endorsement of the people that I would serve if elected.  Part of understanding other peoples lived experiences is to look at things from a different perspective. Meet the Candidate Welcome to the 2025 election season […]

The 2025 Political Q&A Series: Judge Matt Rudzki, Candidate for Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas

I often joke that all former mayors deserved degrees in social work. My time in local  government taught me a lot about what makes people tick, their struggles, their hopes  and fears, and most importantly how to meet them where they are. Many people coming  to court are often there because something bad happened to […]

The 2025 Political Q&A Series: Judge Hilary Wheatley, Candidate for Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas

I agreed to complete this Q&A for several reasons: Meet the Candidate Welcome to the 2025 election season series ‘Political Q&A’ – interviews with candidates throughout Pennsylvania. Since 2013, we’ve published nearly 150 of these interviews. We use an email Q&A format to allow the candidates to speak directly to you, the readers. Candidates can […]

The 2025 Political Q&A Series: Amanda Green-Hawkins, Candidate for Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas

Everyone is entitled to dignity and respect, people have a right to due process, and the government should help and serve the people – especially those who may lack the resources to fully participate in our society and economy. On the bench, I would see people in light of their full lives and not reduce […]

The 2025 Political Q&A Series: Amy Mathieu, Candidate for Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas

It is crucial that we keep acknowledging that these day-to-day decisions may affect the lifetime of the litigants in the courtroom. The outcome of these court cases changes the trajectory of everyone involved. These decisions do not matter any less, even if we are exhausted by changing national circumstances. Meet the Candidate Welcome to the […]

The 2025 Political Q&A Series: Judge Alyssa Cowan, Candidate for Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas

In order for marginalized groups to have  increased access to the judicial system to expand their civil rights, I would make these three  recommendations: expand pro bono programs, create additional self-help centers, and  encourage attorneys to adopt a sliding-fee scale based on income and ability to pay.  Meet the Candidate Welcome to the 2025 election […]

The 2025 Political Q&A Series: Lauren Leiggi, Candidate for Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas

I agreed to complete this Q&A because I myself have previously used this blog to learn more about candidates running for office. I feel it is often difficult to find information about candidates, especially when most people do not know that Judicial candidates have a different set of ethical rules to adhere to compared to […]

I’m the albatross. I swept in at the rescue.

Update – the Albatross Next week will mark one year since I was wrongly involuntarily civilly committed, had the locks changed to my home of 18+ years, and was officially homeless for 196 days. Just prior to those events, negligent medication management had left me toxic with something akin to serotonin syndrome. Just prior to […]

Q&A With Nicola Henry-Taylor, Candidate for the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas

Nicola Henry-Taylor

The importance of having a good reputation and work ethic which has been beneficial to me and my clients. My campaign has been focused on one thing from the beginning: taking my message straight to the voters of Allegheny County. We have had one on one, direct conversations with thousands of voters, which have been […]

Q&A with Lisa Middleman, Candidate for Court of Common Pleas

Lisa Middleman

Choose people who have demonstrated, throughout their careers, a dedication to the work that you feel is important and empathy and compassion for those who are impacted by the legal system. Candidates who have demonstrated a willingness to be involved in discussions about ways to improve the legal system, those who have been of service […]