Philly Traffic Court elections off November ballot
It's official: The November general election ballot will not include three open seats on Philadelphia Traffic Court. Gov. Corbett signed into law today a state Senate bill that eliminates that election as part of larger move to abolish the scandal-plagued Traffic Court.
It's official: The November general election ballot will not include three open seats on Philadelphia Traffic Court. Gov. Corbett signed into law today a state Senate bill that eliminates that election as part of larger move to abolish the scandal-plagued Traffic Court.
Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi, a Delaware County Republican, introduced the two bills to abolish Traffic Court on Feb. 1, a day after nine current and former judges were charged by federal prosecutors will a massive scheme to fix tickets as political favors. Three of the judges have already pleaded guilty.
Pileggi this morning tweeted: "SB334 has been signed by @GovernorCorbett. Farewell to Philadelphia's scandal-plagued #TrafficCourt."
One of the bills, which must be approved in the next session of the General Assembly and then by voters in a statewide referendum, changes the state Constitution to abolish Traffic Court. The other bill eliminates the Traffic Court judge positions and transfers those duties to hearing examiners in Philadelphia Municipal Court.
Twenty-seven candidates contested in the May 21 primary elections for the three seats. Traffic Court judges are paid $91,052 per year and don't have to be attorneys. Three Democrats and two Republicans won the primaries.