Several races involving LGBT and ally candidates will be decided Tuesday; we spoke with a few such candidates about what they would bring to their positions, if elected.
Abbe Fletman
Philadelphia Common Pleas Court
Abbe Fletman, an out judge on the Court of Common Pleas, is running for re-election, after being appointed to the bench last year to fill a vacancy.
Fletman served as a civil trial lawyer for 26 years and most recently worked as a partner at Flaster/Greenberg. She said her proudest legal accomplishments include representing Philadelphia in a case to protect voters’ rights and representing female athletes in Title IX cases involving equality in athletics.
Fletman served as one of the first female co-chairs of the Gay and Lesbian Lawyers of Philadelphia, helped launch the LGBT Litigator Committee for the American Bar Association’s Litigation Section and earned a lifetime-achievement award last year from The Legal Intelligencer.
“I’d like to continue the work I’ve started,” Fletman told PGN.
She noted the importance of assuring that everyone is treated with dignity within the court system.
“I believe the LGBT community wants the same things as everyone else: fair and respectful treatment, someone who will listen to all parties and do their best to be just,” Fletman said. “I’d hope the community would think that of me and support me.”
Fletman said she has been active in the local LGBT community for more than 25 years. She is married and she and her wife have raised two grown children.
Victory Fund and Liberty City LGBT Democratic Club have endorsed Fletman. The Philadelphia Bar Association also distinguished Fletman as “highly recommended.”
Dan Clifford
Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas
For Dan Clifford, an out lawyer and managing partner with Weber Gallagher in Norristown, it’s all about family court. In his bid to become a Montgomery County judge, he hopes to make that branch of law more user-friendly and efficient.
Clifford earned one of three Democratic nominations in the May primary. On Nov. 3, he will face five other candidates for three spots on the county court bench. Judges serve 10-year terms and are paid $176,572 a year.
Clifford has practiced family law for roughly 30 years and seen cases stretch on for years. He noted it’s the lives of the children that are most affected while parents seek litigation. He’s pushed for local and state legislation to shorten the timeline.
The issue hits home for Clifford, who adopted his son Matthew, now 16, in 1999. Clifford and his husband Jonathan Weinhold were parties in Montgomery County’s first second-parent adoption, which allows same-sex parents to jointly adopt children. Clifford and Weinhold married in 2014 after more than 20 years together.
“I’m the only candidate with substantial family-court experience,” said Clifford, who would become the first openly gay man elected as a county official in Montgomery County. “Now that we have same-sex marriage-recognition and inclusive adoption, these [LGBT] couples are also accessing our family-court system.”
Clifford said all new county court judges serve on family court and usually remain for at least their first term. He said he’s committed to serving in that division.
“My challenge has been reaching LGBT voters in the suburbs,” he added. “There’s nothing that brings our community together here. I’m trying to break the firewall when it comes to LGBT candidates outside Philadelphia. Something I’d bring to the bench would be visibility to the LGBT community as an out county official.”
Dawn Segal
Retention for Municipal Court
Dawn Segal, an out judge, is seeking retention as a Municipal Court judge.
Elected in 2010, Segal was suspended with pay last year in relation to allegations of improper conversations about cases with another judge. She has not been formally accused of wrongdoing, and is expected to have a hearing this year before the Court of Judicial Discipline.
Segal worked as a litigator for 25 years before joining the Municipal Court bench. Her experience includes commercial and domestic law, contract law, labor and employment, personal injury and property law.
She grew up in Connecticut and moved to Philadelphia to attend Temple University Law School, from which she graduated in 1984. Segal now lives in Mt. Airy with her partner. They have two grown children.
“I believe the LGBT community should retain or re-elect me because I offer a unique perspective as the only out lesbian on Municipal Court,” Segal wrote in an email to PGN, “and also as a judge who cares deeply about affording dignity, respect and justice to all who appear before me. As a member of the education committee for Municipal Court, I facilitated trans-competency training for the entire Philadelphia Municipal Court and have been a point person on Municipal Court for attorneys with LGBT concerns.”
D. Bruce Hanes
Montgomery County Register of Wills and Clerk of the Orphans Court
D. Bruce Hanes calls himself “your standard old, straight white guy.” But most people know him better as the county official who issued the first same-sex marriage licenses in Pennsylvania in July 2013.
At that time, the state still banned same-sex marriages, despite the Supreme Court decision that struck down the Defense of Marriage Act.
Hanes, a Democrat, is seeking a third term as register of wills and clerk of the orphans court in Montgomery County. He will face Republican Sharon Valentine-Thomas, mayor of Pottstown, in the Nov. 3 election. County clerks serve four-year terms and are paid $81,560 a year.
“LGBT support is very important,” Hanes said. “It makes me feel that we’re working together on equality and civil rights.”
Valentine-Thomas has said she would not issue same-sex marriage licenses if elected. She would like a state or federal court to grant her an exemption for religious reasons, but would allow deputy clerks to authorize same-sex marriage licenses.
“It’s really unfortunate that a person running to be the register of wills in Montgomery County would want to head the office and send it backward two or three years,” Hanes said.
He added there is still work to be done to support the LGBT community. Hanes believes he could have some effect on advocating for statewide nondiscrimination laws.
“It requires an indirect effort on my part,” he said. “I’m frequently among people in the state that can affect legislation. I will push to protect the LGBT community in the way that everybody else is protected.”