NORRISTOWN — Three Montgomery County district court judicial seats are up for grabs during the Nov. 2 general election and voters in the Lansdale, Plymouth and Norristown areas will encounter those contests on their ballots when they step into their voting booths.
District court judges are elected to six-year terms and preside over criminal preliminary arraignments and preliminary hearings, summary criminal offenses, traffic offenses, municipal code violations, landlord/tenant disputes, and civil claims where damages do not exceed $12,000.
Candidates for district court judge are elected in odd-numbered years by voters in the municipalities that constitute their magisterial district.
In Magisterial District Court 38-1-28 which includes Towamencin Township, part of Hatfield Township and the boroughs of Hatfield and Lansdale, incumbent Edward J. Levine, who was first elected to the six-year post in 2015, appears on the Democratic ballot and faces a challenge from Patrick M. Hanrahan, a retired Hatfield Township police officer, who secured the Republican nomination during May’s primary election.
Levine, who received a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Maryland in 1993 and is a 2006 graduate of the Temple University School of Law, also served as an adjunct professor at the Lansdale School of Business from September 2018 to May 2019 where he taught business law.
Before he was elected district judge, Levine was a contract attorney in Philadelphia with Kessler, Topaz, Meltzer & Check LLP, Dechert LLP, and Morgan Lewis between 2007 and 2015.
According to his resume, Levine’s legal experience also includes being a litigation associate with Duffy Connors, LLP in Exton from 2006 to 2007; a legal assistant at Villari, Brandes & Kline P.C. in Conshohocken in 2006; and a summer associate with Rubin, Glickman, Steinberg and Gifford in Lansdale in 2005. From 2002 to 2005, Levine worked as a court clerk for former District Court Judge David A. Keightly in Montgomery Township.
Hanrahan, who is a Lansdale Catholic High School graduate, obtained an associate’s degree in applied science from Montgomery County Community College in 1986 and Act 120 certification from the Pennsylvania State Police Academy in 1987.
Hanrahan worked for the Hatfield Township Police Department from 1987 to 2018, serving as a patrol officer, detective and a corporal, according to his resume. During his 31-year career with the department, Hanrahan served as a K-9 officer, a bicycle patrol officer, hostage and crisis negotiator with SWAT, and coordinated criminal and special investigations and processed crime scenes.
Since 2018, Hanrahan has been a protective services instructor at the North Montco Technical Center, instructing high school students seeking careers in law enforcement, security, emergency medical services and related fields.
A Nov. 2 election battle is also on tap In Magisterial District Court 38-1-15 which includes portions of Norristown’s first and second wards. Denise Ashe appears on the Democratic ballot and Monica Mathews Reynolds appears on the Republican ballot.
The winner will replace longtime District Court judge Francis J. Lawrence Jr., who withdrew his candidacy for re-election in August after initially winning the Republican nomination in the May primary, according to county election records. Reynolds was the second top vote-getter on the GOP ballot during the primary election and was officially placed on the general election ballot on Aug. 19 to replace Lawrence, according to county election records.
Ashe has been the executive director and president and CEO of the Montgomery County Opportunities Industrialization Center.
Ashe, who holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Norfolk State University and a MBA degree in health and business administration from St. Joseph’s University, previously worked as a financial accountant and internal auditor for Tasty Baking Company from 1982 to 1994 and as a senior accountant for Philadelphia Presbyterian Homes from 1994 to 1997.
Since 1997, Ashe has worked at Montgomery OIC, a non-profit community-based organization that offers training and educational programs to meet the needs of economically disadvantaged individuals in the community.
Ashe previously served as board president for two years of the Norristown Area School District where she was elected to three terms serving 12 years from 2001 to 2013.
Reynolds, a lawyer, served four years as a member of the Norristown Planning Commission, lastly as secretary, before entering the race for district judge. Reynolds is currently with the Paoli firm of Connor Weber & Oberlies, P.C., where she is a partner in charge of the corporate department practice.
According to her resume, Reynolds’ previous legal experience included: an associate in commercial and business litigation with Spector Gadon & Rosen, P.C., in Philadelphia from 2001 to 2008; a senior associate from 2008 to 2009 with High Swartz LLP in Norristown; and a senior associate with Spector Gadon & Rosen, P.C., of Philadelphia, from 2009 to 2014.
Reynolds obtained a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice/sociology from the University of Delaware and is a 2000 graduate of The Dickinson School of Law of the Pennsylvania State University.
In Magisterial District Court 38-1-13 incumbent Francis J. Bernhardt appears on the Republican ballot and faces a challenge from Jodi Lukens Griffis who appears on the Democratic ballot. The district includes all of Plymouth Township and the west side of Conshohocken Borough.
According to Bernhardt’s campaign website, he was first appointed to the post by former Gov. Tom Ridge in 2001 to fill the seat left vacant by John T. Sachaczenski.
A graduate of Gettysburg College and Capital School of Law, Bernhardt is admitted to practice law in all Pennsylvania courts as well as the U.S. Federal Court Eastern District and the U.S. Supreme Court, according to his campaign website. After earning his law degree, Bernhardt had a career as an attorney specializing in civil litigation and criminal defense. Today, Bernhardt continues to serve as the managing partner of the litigation firm Bernhardt, Rothermel & Siegel, P.C., according to his website.
Bernhardt, according to his campaign website, also has served as a vice president and solicitor with the Plymouth Fire Company, where he is still a lifetime member; Vice president and liaison to Montgomery County Emergency Services with the Plymouth Township Council; and represented the Plymouth Township Board where he served on the Joint Sewer Board with the neighboring communities of Whitpain and East Norriton townships.
Griffis, a graduate of Plymouth Whitemarsh High School and a 2005 graduate of Widener University School of Law, served as a county public defender from January 2007 to September 2014, representing indigent and incarcerated clients, and has had a private practice since 2008.
While working as a public defender, Griffis worked in behavioral health court, representing clients with mental health issues, and handled other mental health hearings and has worked as a substitute mental health review officer for the county court system since 2015.
Griffis, who also obtained a bachelor’s degree from Dickinson College in 2002, has served as the president of the board of directors for Circle Lodge, Inc., a local nonprofit community rehabilitative residence for individuals suffering from mental illness, for the last eight years, according to her resume.
The polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Nov. 2. All voters in line by 8 p.m. will be permitted to vote.
Typically, the largest crowds show up at the polls before work, between 7 and 9 a.m. and after work at 5 p.m., officials said. By law, polling places must stay open to accommodate voters in line by 8 p.m., whether they’re inside or outside the polling place.
“Our polling locations and poll workers will continue to follow COVID-19 guidelines for anyone who wishes to vote in person,” county Commissioners’ Chairwoman Dr. Valerie Arkoosh wrote in a message on the county’s website.
Residents who plan to vote in person can visit www.montcopa.org/VoteInPerson to find their polling location, answers to frequently asked questions and information about the role of each person working within a polling location.
