Phila. D.A. Williams wins re-election; seven elected to Common Pleas Court

Philadelphia’s Democratic District Attorney R. Seth Williams easily slid to

re-election following Tuesday’s voting, beating out Republican challenger Daniel Alvarez by more than 66,000 votes.

Philadelphia election returns show that Williams, who became Pennsylvania’s first-ever African American district attorney when he was elected to the city post back in 2009, took 80.86 percent of the vote while Alvarez, a lawyer practicing with the West Chester law firm Lamb McErlane, took just 19.10 percent of the total vote.

Alvarez is an associate in the criminal law department of Lamb McErlane, according to a law firm biography.

He began his career working as an assistant district attorney in Philadelphia, and he most recently served as a judicial law clerk in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas, his bio states.

Back in early June, after Alvarez won the Republican primary in the district attorney’s race, Lamb McErlane managing partner Joel Frank commended the associate on his victory.

Alvarez’s campaign seemed doomed, however, when considering that registered Democrats outnumber registered Republicans in the City of Brotherly Love by a purported 6-1 margin.

The Philadelphia Inquirer on Wednesday quoted Williams as saying that during his new term, he plans to continue his strong relationship with Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey and aims to continue his work in the areas of crime deterrence and prevention.

“I look forward to finding more innovative ways to prevent crime and reduce recidivism and gun violence,” Williams told the newspaper.

In other news, a slew of new trial court judges were elected to the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas following Tuesday’s contest.

The new city jurists are as follows: Anne Marie Coyle, Timika Lane, Joe Fernandes, Daniel McCaffery, Giovanni Campbell, J. Scott O’Keefe and Sierra Thomas Street.

Coyle is a registered Republican while the other six new trial judges are Democrats.

Street is the former daughter-in-law of former Philadelphia Mayor John Street.

Fifteen other Common Pleas Court judges were retained for new terms.

Republican Judge Kenneth Powell, Jr., who had been a court appointment under both Gov. Tom Corbett, a Republican, and former Gov. Ed Rendell, a Democrat, had been unable to secure a Democratic judicial nomination, according to media reports.

The other candidate who fell short on Tuesday was Stephen Miller-Miller, a Libertarian who had received a “not recommended” rating from the Philadelphia Bar Association.

The association doesn’t release specifics with regard to its “recommended” or “not recommended” ratings for judicial candidates.

In addition to Miller-Miller, Street also received a “not recommended” rating from the bar association.