An out Philadelphia attorney plans to pave the road for fairness and equality in his campaign for a Traffic Court judgeship.
Robert Tuerk, who ran in 2011 for the one open spot in Traffic Court, will next month be one of 25 candidates vying for one of the three spots open on the bench.
Tuerk, a Philadelphia native, said he was motivated to run after he saw that there were more vacancies on the court this time around.
“I saw this more as an even playing field for those not elected by people who might have been involved with the prior system that has been going on in Traffic Court,” he said.
Tuerk’s love of law started when he was young, and led him to his more-than 17 years in practice.
“I always had an interest in righting wrongs and making sure injustices were corrected,” he said.
He has a wide array of experience in different sectors of law and has served as general counsel for companies in Florida and Pennsylvania. Tuerk served on the LGBT committee at the Philadelphia Bar Association and is a current member of Gay and Lesbian Lawyers of Philadelphia.
Tuerk also has performed pro-bono legal services for Hurricane Katrina victims and represented children in custody disputes.
He has lived in Center City for 20 years and said his experience in Philadelphia has helped him learn what the local community needs.
The Temple University School of Law graduate said he was motivated to run because of his knowledge of Traffic Court law and his passion to serve his city.
“I want to bring competence, fairness and equal justice for everyone,” he said. “I have 12 years of Traffic Court law experience and many clients and attorneys know I am familiar with this area of law. I am a fair-minded person, therefore no one would be discriminated against in my courtroom.”
Tuerk said since the last election, he has learned even more about the process of putting together a campaign and all the work that goes into it.
“I learned it requires a tremendous amount of energy and perseverance to be involved in a campaign and I plan to continue it into this election,” he said.
Tuerk said he feels it is important to have LGBT candidates in all sectors of government, including in the judicial branch, to provide examples to the community on what LGBT individuals can bring to the world.
“With every openly gay official who is put in any level of government, it adds to the legitimacy of the LGBT community, which is not a singular community, but a diverse community,” he said. “Society sees different types of people and LGBT people in government positions and they begin to understand that they are just as diversified as the straight community.”
Tuerk said he is not running for the bench because he is gay, but because he has experience.
“I don’t want to be pigeon-holed as an out gay candidate, I just happen to be the most qualified candidate who happens to be gay.”