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Criminal Justice

Pennsylvania’s 2021 municipal primary took place yesterday (Tuesday, May 18). Statewide, Pennsylvania officials sent out 820,757 mail and absentee ballots. As of 5/18, voters had returned roughly 69% of these ballots. With vote tallying still ongoing, all results are UNOFFICIAL.

Statewide Ballot Questions

Four statewide ballot questions were on the primary election slate for Pennsylvania voters to decide; including three that would make changes to the state’s constitution. The questions included two specific referendums that address how future state of emergencies will be handled in Pennsylvania.

  • Question one asked voters to amend the state constitution to limit all state of emergencies issued by a governor to 21 days. 53.61% voted YES. 
  • Question two asked voters to give the state’s General Assembly authority to extend or terminate a governor’s initial order. 53.58 % voted YES 
  • Question three asked voters to amend the state constitution to specifically prohibit restricting or denying a person’s equal rights on the grounds of race or ethnicity. 71.36% voted YES
  • The last question asked voters to authorize permission for paid municipal fire and medical rescue companies to apply for loans from a state program that currently provides funding only for volunteer fire and EMS agencies. 72.19% voted YES 

Statewide Judicial Races (Candidates leading in RED)
Justice of the Supreme Court: 2021- One Vacancy

  • Democrat Maria McLaughlin was running unopposed in the primary and will advance to the General Election.
  • Paula Patrick, Kevin Brobson and Patricia McCullough were running for the Republican nomination. Brobson will advance to the General Election.

Judge of the Superior Court of Pennsylvania: 2021- One Vacancy

  • Jill Beck, Timika Lane and Bryan Neft were running for the Democrat nomination. Lane will advance to the General Election.
  • Republican Megan Sullivan was running unopposed in the primary and will advance to the General Election.

Judge of the Commonwealth Court: 2021- Two Vacancies

  • Lori Dumas, Sierra Street, David Spurgeon, Amanda Green Hawkins were running for the Democrat nomination. Dumas and Spurgeon will advance to the General Election
  • Republicans Drew Crompton and Stacy Marie Wallace were running unopposed in the primary and will advance to the General Election.

Special Elections- State House & State Senate (Candidates leading in RED)
Four special elections were held during the primary to fill vacant seats in the General Assembly. Once election results are certified, the winners will be sworn-in and immediately take over the vacant seat.

  • A special election was held for the 59th House District left vacant after the death of state Rep. Mike Reese, R-Mt. Pleasant. The district includes parts of Westmoreland and Somerset counties. Democrat Mariah Fisher, Republican Leslie Baum Rossi and Libertarian Robb Luther were on the ballot. The unofficial winner is Leslie Baum Rossi.
  • A special election was held in the 60th House District left vacant after the retirement of Rep. Jeff Pyle, R-Ford City. The district includes parts of Armstrong, Butler and Indiana counties. Republican Abby Major, Democratic Frank Prazenica, and Libertarian Andrew Hreha were on the ballot. The unofficial winner is Abby Major.
  • A special election was held in the 48th Senate District left vacant after the death of Sen. Dave Arnold. The district includes Lebanon and parts of Dauphin and York counties. Republican candidate Christopher Gebhard, Democrat Calvin Clements, Independent Ed Krebs and Libertarian Tim McMaster were on the ballot. The unofficial winner is Christopher Gebhard.
  • A special election was held in the 22nd Senate District left vacant after the retirement of Sen. John Blake, D.  The district includes parts of Lackawanna, Luzerne and Monroe counties. Republican Chris Chermak, Democrat Marty Flynn (current state representative), Libertarian Nathan Covington and Green Party Marlene Sebastianellli were on the ballot. The unofficial winner is Marty Flynn.

County/local Races Receiving Statewide Attention

  • In Allegheny County, Pittsburgh voters headed to the polls to choose their party’s candidate for Mayor. Shortly after midnight, Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto conceded defeat to state Rep. Ed Gainey in a four-way Democratic primary race for mayor, positioning Gainey to become the first Black mayor in the city’s history.
  • In Dauphin County, there was a 5-way contest for the Democrat nomination for Harrisburg mayor. Incumbent Mayor Eric Papenfuse, seeking a third term, City Council President Wanda Williams; former city Councilman Otto Banks; retired media executive Dave Schankweiler; and Kevyn Knox. The sole candidate on the Republican ballot is businessman Timothy Rowbottom. The unofficial winner of the Democrat primary is Wanda Williams. As of this 11a.m. this morning, Williams was holding a 56 vote lead over Papenfuse.
  • In Philadelphia, voters picked their party nominee for district attorney, city controller, and several judgeships. Incumbent DA Larry Krasner will win the Democrat nomination for District Attorney.

Link to results.

RCPA would like to officially announce that Jack Phillips, RCPA Director of Government Relations, has accepted a new position as Director of Government Affairs at Novak Strategic Advisors in Harrisburg, PA. Jack will be continuing his work with RCPA while assuming this new role. In most ways, members should see no change; presence at division meetings, updates at general meetings, oversight of the government relations meetings/calls, and lobbying activities at the Capitol will continue as before.

What this does offer is an opportunity for Jack to expand his reach in Harrisburg, and he has worked closely with RCPA on this transition to make this as seamless as possible. RCPA will also have access to other resources at Novak as needed. Please offer your congratulations to Jack on this new endeavor.

assistance, support, guidance - business concept words in color hexagons over blue background, flat design

We are excited to announce the launch of our newly rebuilt and redesigned financial education website, StudyMoney.us!

This new, fully accessible, and user-friendly website makes financial education readily available to people with disabilities, their family members, advocates, and educators everywhere, at no cost. As part of PATF’s commitment to helping people with disabilities invest in their financial future, we pledge to contribute $1,000 in savings to five people ($200 each) as part of a two-week #StudyMoneyWithUs Giveaway.

“Financial education is the foundation for independent living,” says PATF’s CEO, Susan Tachau. “When it comes to equity and inclusion, we believe comprehensive and accessible financial education can help level the playing field. That’s why we created this website and the curriculum on which it is based.”

“People with disabilities and their families need information and tools to make wise financial decisions for their futures. StudyMoney.us is designed to do just that,” Tachau states.

StudyMoney.us is based on our award-winning financial empowerment curriculum, Cents and Sensibility: A Guide to Money Management and its companion educator manual.

Read the official press release here.

Photo by Sharon McCutcheon on Unsplash

WHEN AND WHERE ARE TEENS ALLOWED TO WORK?

As millions of teens enter the summer seasonal workforce, the U.S. Department of Labor has scheduled a webinar for teens, parents, employers, and educators on how federal and state laws protect teen workers. The virtual event will be held Thursday, May 27 from 9:00 am–11 am.

Representatives from the Wage and Hour Division’s Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Wilkes-Barre district offices will join officials from the Pennsylvania Bureau of Labor Law Compliance to provide information and resources on regulations affecting youth employment, including the federal Fair Labor Standards Act and the Pennsylvania Child Labor Act.

Attendance for the webinar is free, but registration is required. Register here for the webinar.

The webinar is part of the division’s “Essential Workers – Essential Protections” initiative to offer training on critical workplace protections to workers in essential industries. This program builds on the division’s YouthRules! initiative, which promotes positive and safe work experiences for young workers by educating the public about the types of jobs teens can hold and the number of hours they can work.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) published an interim final rule with comment period (IFC) in the May 13, 2021 Federal Register that revises the infection control requirements that long-term care (LTC) facilities and intermediate care facilities for individuals with intellectual disabilities must meet to participate in the Medicare and Medicaid programs. The goal of this IFC is to reduce the spread of COVID-19 by requiring education about COVID-19 vaccines for LTC facility residents, ICF-IID clients, and staff serving both populations, and by requiring that such vaccines, when available, be offered to all residents, clients, and staff. It also requires LTC facilities to report COVID-19 vaccination status of residents and staff to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). These requirements are necessary to help protect the health and safety of ICF-IID clients and LTC facility residents. In addition, the rule solicits public comments on the potential application of these or other requirements to other congregate living settings over which CMS has regulatory or other oversight authority. The regulations are effective on May 21, 2021; however, comments will be accepted but must be submitted by 5:00 pm on July 12, 2021 to be assured for consideration.