The Procrastinator’s Guide to Allegheny County’s May 16 primary

It’s too late to register, but it’s not too late to get informed.

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Courtesy candidates' campaign websites or Facebook pages
Sarah Anne Hughes
Sarah Anne Hughes

Allegheny County’s primary is May 16.

It is too late to register, if you haven’t already done that. It is also too late to switch your voter registration, if you just woke up and realized that you need to be a Democrat in Pittsburgh to vote for mayor. (Don’t shoot the messenger.)

But it’s not too late, registered voters, to confidently strut into your polling place Tuesday, knowing that you’ve at least seen the names of all the candidates that will be on your ballot.

First: Make sure you’re registered.

Then: Double check your polling place and take note of your ward and district number. Why? Because you’ll need that info to check out a sample ballot, by far the simplest way to find out which of the below races you’ll be voting in.

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Mayor of City of Pittsburgh

Am I voting in this race? If you are a registered Democrat who lives in Pittsburgh, you have the option to.

Do I have a choice of candidates? Do you ever! You can learn about them by reading our Procrastinator’s Guide to the mayoral race, listening to our hour-long forum with WESA or by scrolling through our archives.

Darlene Harris | Website
Bio in 140 characters: North Side council member. <3 police. Boo: bike lanes. Peduto = D-minus. Vote Pro Life. Earlier: School board prez, rode an elephant + camel

Bill Peduto | Website
Bio in 140 characters: Now: One-term incumbent. It’s complicated with Uber. Then: District 8 council member. Future: Tech, smart growth, welcoming + inclusive city

John Welch | Website
Bio in 140 characters: Pittsburgh Theological Seminary dean, doctor of healthcare ethics. Concerned about lead and inequality. Meh toward bike lanes. See ya, Uber!

Allegheny County Sheriff

Am I voting in this race? If you live in Allegheny County and are a registered Democrat, the answer is yes.

Any drama? A little bit. A staffer of Allegheny County Sheriff Bill Mullen accused detective George Satler of lying about Mullen not hiring LGBTQ people or not promoting black people and women, the Post-Gazette reported.

Bill Mullen | Website
Bio in 140 characters: Allegheny County sheriff since 2006 election. From patrol officer to detective to Pittsburgh police dep. chief. Endorsed by county Democrats

George Satler | Website
Bio in 140 characters: Pittsburgh homicide detective. Wants to clear warrant backlog + combat opioid crisis. Dog is cute. Backed by County Treasurer John Weinstein

Pittsburgh City Council

Am I voting in this race? You are if you live in city council districts 2, 4, 6, and 8. (Those of you who live in district 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9 will get a chance in 2019.) Find out if you live in one of those districts here.

Do I have a choice of candidates? There is only one competitive race in this year’s primary, for the District 4 seat, which you can read thousands of words about here. 

District 2

Theresa Kail-Smith
Bio in 140 characters: A constituent-focused incumbent. A mother of millennials. A booster for District 2. Regular meeting attendee. Your only choice, so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

District 4

Any drama in District 4? You bet. Anthony Coghill accused his rival Asheligh Deemer of being in the pockets of developers who she accepted donations from, the Post-Gazette reported. But, according to emails, Coghill’s campaign also solicited donations from those developers.

Anthony Coghill | Website
Bio in 140 characters: Back to basics. 19th Ward committee chair. District 4 lifer; graffiti and blight hater. Endorsed by Fitzgerald, Fontana and the Post-Gazette

Ashleigh Deemer | Website
Bio in 140 characters: Chief of staff to Natalia Rudiak. Loves her job. Pre-K and childcare focused. Wants to get things done. Endorsed by Wagner, Gross and unions

District 6

Daniel Lavelle
Bio in 140 characters: Two-term incumbent. Affordable housing and trust fund champion. URA board member. Lives in the Hill District. Your only choice, so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

District 8

Dan Gilman
Bio in 140 characters: One-term incumbent. A Peduto protégé. Made Pittsburgh better for immigrants, banned LGBTQ conversion therapy. Your only choice, so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Allegheny County Council

Am I voting in the race? Only Pittsburghers who vote in District 12 will get to cast a ballot this time around. Find out if you live in that district using this map.

District 12

Jim Ellenbogen | Website
Bio in 140 characters: Long-time incumbent. Chair of Public Safety. Accused of sexual harassment, suing over allegations. Vote Pro Life. Backed by county executive

Robert J. Palmosina | Website
Bio in 140 characters: Democratic Party 20th ward chair. Collier Public Works director. Coached teams. Fired from Pittsburgh DPW then sued. Endorsed by county Dems

School Board

Am I voting in this race? Only if you live in school districts 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9. Find out if you do using this tool.

Do I have a choice of candidates? Not if you live in District 1, where the incumbent is running unopposed, or District 7, where the only opponent dropped out.

District 1

Sylvia C. Wilson, incumbent
The Incline questionnaire | A+ Schools questionnaire

District 3

James Myers Jr.
The Incline questionnaire | A+ Schools questionnaire 

Sala Udin
The Incline questionnaire | A+ Schools questionnaire

District 5

Terry Kennedy, incumbent
The Incline questionnaire | A+ Schools questionnaire

Ghadah Makoshi
The Incline questionnaire | A+ Schools questionnaire

District 7

Cynthia A. Falls, incumbent
The Incline questionnaire | A+ Schools questionnaire 

Joseph Conrad Kearfott Burns
Withdrew from the race, but his name will still appear on the ballot.

District 9

Veronica Edwards
Did not respond to The Incline questionnaire | A+ Schools questionnaire 

Carolyn Klug, incumbent
The Incline questionnaire | A+ Schools questionnaire

Judges, judges and more judges

How many of these races am I voting in? If you live in Allegheny County, the answer is — all of them. Depending on your political affiliation, you may or may not have a choice of candidate depending on the race.

Justice of the Supreme Court (Pick one)

Democrat

Dwayne Woodruff: Recommended by the Pennsylvania Bar Association
Questionnaire | Website

Republican

Sallie Mundy: Highly Recommended by the Pennsylvania Bar Association
Bar Association questionnaire | Pennsylvania Family Council questionnaire | Website |  Vote Pro Life endorsed

Judge of the Superior Court (Pick four)

Read more about the Pennsylvania Bar Association ratings here.

Democrats

Bill Caye: Not Recommended by the Pennsylvania Bar Association
Bar Association questionnaire | Pennsylvania Family Council questionnaire | Website | Vote Pro Life endorsed

Debbie Kunselman: Highly Recommended by the Pennsylvania Bar Association
Questionnaire | Website

Maria McLaughlin: Recommended by the Pennsylvania Bar Association
Questionnaire | Website

Geoff Moulton: Highly Recommended by the Pennsylvania Bar Association
Questionnaire | Website

Carolyn H. Nichols: Recommended by the Pennsylvania Bar Association
Questionnaire | Website

Republicans

Emil Giordano: Highly Recommended by the Pennsylvania Bar Association
Bar Association questionnaire | Pennsylvania Family Council questionnaire | Website | Vote Pro Life endorsed

Wade A. Kagarise: Recommended by the Pennsylvania Bar Association
Bar Association questionnaire | Pennsylvania Family Council questionnaire | Website | Vote Pro Life endorsed

Mary Murray: Not rated
Pennsylvania Family Council questionnaire | Website | Vote Pro Life endorsed

Paula A. Patrick: Highly Recommended by the Pennsylvania Bar Association
Bar Association questionnaire | Pennsylvania Family Council questionnaire | Website | Vote Pro Life endorsed

Craig Stedman: Highly Recommended by the Pennsylvania Bar Association
Bar Associaion questionnaire | Pennsylvania Family Council questionnaire | Website | Vote Pro Life endorsed

Judge of the Commonwealth Court (Pick two)

Democrats

Bryan Barbin: Recommended by the Pennsylvania Bar Association
Questionnaire | Website | Vote Pro Life endorsed

Timothy Barry: Recommended by the Pennsylvania Bar Association
Questionnaire | Website

Ellen Ceisler: Recommended by the Pennsylvania Bar Association
Questionnaire | Website

Irene M. Clark: Not Recommended by the Pennsylvania Bar Association
Questionnaire | Website

Joe Cosgrove: Highly Recommended by the Pennsylvania Bar Association
Questionnaire | Website

Todd Eagen: Recommended by the Pennsylvania Bar Association
Questionnaire | Website

Republicans

Christine Fizzano Cannon: Highly Recommended by the Pennsylvania Bar Association
Bar Association questionnaire | Pennsylvania Family Council questionnaire | Website | Vote Pro Life endorsed

Paul Lalley: Recommended by the Pennsylvania Bar Association
Bar Association questionnaire | Pennsylvania Family Council questionnaire | Website | Vote Pro Life endorsed

Judge of the Court of Common Pleas (Pick two)

Read more about the Allegheny County Bar Association recommendations

Democrats-Republicans

Pauline Calabrese: Not Recommended by the Allegheny County Bar Association
Website | Vote Pro Life endorsed

Patrick Connelly: Highly Recommended by the Allegheny County Bar Association
Website

Rosemary Crawford: Highly Recommended by the Allegheny County Bar Association
Website

Jessica Lynch: Not Recommended by the Allegheny County Bar Association
Website

Mary C. McGinley: Recommended by the Allegheny County Bar Association
Website

David Lee Spurgeon: Highly Recommended by the Allegheny County Bar Association
Website