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GOP's Melvin tapped for state's highest court
HARRISBURG - Republican Joan Orie Melvin has been elected to Pennsylvania's highest court.
The 53-year-old Melvin beat 54-year-old Jack Panella in the general election Tuesday that will change the partisan balance of the seven-justice Pennsylvania Supreme Court.
Both candidates are sitting judges on the Superior Court - Melvin in Pittsburgh and Panella in Bethlehem.
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Melvin refused to accept the judicial pay raise that emerged from the failed 2005 legislative pay raise. She continues to return to the state Treasury the after-tax portion of her salary increases granted since then.
With 8,766 of 9,310 precincts, or 94 percent, reporting, Melvin had 865,054 votes, or 53 percent, while Panella had 772,518 votes, or 47 percent of the vote.
Tuesday's election was the climax to a campaign that generated more than $3 million in contributions, largely from trial lawyers and organized labor, and was notable for dueling attack ads on TV and the Internet.
In the state Commonwealth Court race, Pittsburgh lawyer and Republican Patricia McCullough won one of two open seats on the court. The 52-year-old McCullough has been in private practice since 1993 and lives in Pittsburgh.
The other candidates are Democrats Barbara Behrend Ernsberger and Linda Judson, both Pittsburgh lawyers, and Republican Kevin Brobson, a Harrisburg lawyer.
Commonwealth Court judges hear lawsuits filed against state agencies and appeals of decisions by most state agencies.
Supreme Court justices currently receive an annual salary of $186,450, and judges on the Superior and Commonwealth courts get $175,923. The presiding judges are paid slightly more.
The crowded race for four open seats on the Superior Court was too close to call. The seats will go to the four top vote-getters, but the tally for each of the eight major-party candidates were all between 11 and 16 percent of the total.
The Democratic candidates were Philadelphia County judges Anne Lazarus and Teresa Sarmina, Allegheny County Judge Robert Colville and Allegheny County prosecutor Kevin McCarthy. The Republican slate included Allegheny County Judge Judy Olson, Chester County Judge Paula Ott, Tioga County lawyer Sallie Mundy and Pittsburgh lawyer Temp Smith. York lawyer Marakay Rogers was the Libertarian Party's nominee.
In the race for Pittsburgh mayor, the city's current 29-year-old mayor has won his first full term in office by beating two independent candidates, including the son of pro football Hall of Famer Franco Harris.
Luke Ravenstahl inherited the seat in September 2006 from his predecessor, Bob O'Connor, who died months into office from a rare brain cancer. Ravenstahl then won an election in 2007 to complete O'Connor's term.
On Tuesday, Ravenstahl beat Kevin Acklin and Franco Dok Harris.
Two of the biggest issues Ravenstahl will face is ensuring financially distressed Pittsburgh continues to operate in a surplus and dealing with a serious pension fund issue.
©2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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