Dem-backed judges fall short in Phila.

In the Philadelphia races to fill 11 vacancies on Common Pleas Court and Municipal Court, several Democratic Party-endorsed candidates appeared to fall short in their bids last night.

Joyce Eubanks, who had a party endorsement, failed to take one of the seven spots on Common Pleas Court. Sharon Williams Losier was just a few hundred votes shy of knocking another endorsed candidate, Roxanne Covington, from seventh place.

Thomas M. Nocella, who also was endorsed by the Democrats, did not appear close enough to overtake the lowest vote-getter among the four leaders for Municipal Court.

In recent primaries, the Democratic Party suffered a loss of discipline when some unendorsed candidates won judgeships.

U.S. Rep. Robert A. Brady, the party chairman, vowed not to let that happen again, but circumstances dictated otherwise.

"It's important to get the Democratic Party endorsement, but it's no longer crucial," Lynn Marks, executive director of the reform group Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts, said in a recent interview.

The returns last night showed that Robert Coleman, Angeles Roca, Donna Woelpper and Dan Anders - all endorsed by the party - were among the top seven for Common Pleas Court judge.

However, Adam Beloff and Diane Thompson, two candidates not endorsed by the party, were also among the seven. Covington was barely hanging on to the last slot.

The candidates coughed up $35,000 each to pay an "assessment" to the Democratic City Committee for the party's support, according to campaign-finance records for Common Pleas Court candidates.

After yesterday, some of the losing candidates might want a refund.

Showing the power of ballot position - determined by a lottery - Beloff and Thompson appeared to benefit from having the first and second positions, respectively.

Anders drew the 20th position, but he had a wide array of support and vowed to work hard to make up for his bad luck of the draw.

Reached by phone last night, Anders said he was "cautiously optimistic" that he would be among the winners. He later amassed a comfortable vote margin to secure his win.

For Municipal Court, party-endorsed candidates Charles Hayden, Joseph C. Waters Jr., and Pat Dugan were leading, along with one non-endorsed candidate, Dawn Segal.

Segal also appeared to benefit from being in the second ballot spot among Democrats. The No. 1 spot was held by Kenneth J. Powell Jr., but he was a Republican who cross-filed and lucked out with his ballot position. Many Democratic voters must have been aware that he was a Republican.

The Philadelphia Bar Association rated candidates as recommended or not based on an evaluation process that involved a commission of more than 30 members.

For the seven vacancies on Common Pleas Court, the commission deemed 15 candidates recommended and eight not recommended.

The bar's selection commission rated Covington and Williams Losier not recommended, and that angered some Democrats, though it is not unusual for the party to push not-recommended candidates.

The only Republicans in either category were Powell and Joe Murphy, who were running for Municipal Court. They cross-filed and got prime ballot positions on the Democratic side.

Dan Rendine, a Democrat, was in the Republican category for Common Pleas Court because he removed himself from the Democratic ballot.

Contact staff writer Robert Moran at 215-854-5983 or bmoran@phillynews.com.