So Kristine Howard only won her State Rep re-election because her opponent was a cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs candidate who is even less qualified as a politician as she is, and because face it 2022 was the lesser of two evils election, wasn’t it? The woman who ran against her, was literally such a bad candidate that even Republicans voted for Kristine Howard.

Howard now wants to run for JUDGE. I mean, it would be a nice salary bump wouldn’t it? According to published media reports judges serve 10 years and the salary is supposedly $197, 119, so that is like more than double what she makes now, right?

There are a lot of Democrats who want to be judge this year, especially off of County Row in Chester County, correct? And then there are some running who are Magisterial District Justices and they haven’t even finished their terms yet, correct? Sorry, not sorry, I kind of have a problem with that. If you haven’t completed the initial task you were originally elected to, why should we consider you for judge?

And I think Kristine Howard is one of the worst offenders because I’m still trying to figure out what it is exactly she has actually done for us since she was first elected aren’t you? She doesn’t support the people whose lives have been damaged and ruined by the pipelines, does she? She’s not someone you see around unless she’s running. Like she showed up this week at the rededication of the Malvern Historical Commission and opened her mouth for a few seconds. Good thing a public photo op was posted. It’s like proof of life that this State Rep exists.

With this state rep photos are always the subject of some amusement where she’s concerned because when she ran for her first race, the photo was like 15 years old. Literally people didn’t know who she was at first because she was not out much and she didn’t have current campaign photos. I totally get liking certain photos of yourself over others but people literally didn’t recognize her when they actually met her for the first time.

So now Kristine Howard wants to run for judge, so she actually showed her face at something local.

She seems to hide from her constituency, and her staff is not particularly helpful, because there are so many people who have said so. I’ve never contacted her office personally, because when she abandoned her constituents harmed by pipelines, I was kind of done. I mean that was a pretty basic need to just be heard on the part of her constituents affected by pipelines before you get to all the other issues, and she couldn’t even do that.

And is she qualified to be a judge? It doesn’t appear as if she has ever had time in a courtroom does it? So, maybe if she was running for Magisterial District Justice? It would be different, but she’s running for Superior Court, and if you don’t have the chops, you don’t have the chops. And I don’t think she has the chops. I think she just wants this because it’s more money and job security for a decade.

It’s like that quote out of the movie Working Girl in 1988 when Joan Cusack’s character Cyn says:

“ Sometimes I sing and dance around the house in my underwear. Doesn’t make me Madonna. Never will.”

~ Cyn, Working Girl 1988

I wasn’t even going to write about this until I saw that the good state rep was doing her proverbial kissing babies public appearance things. But it needs to be discussed. She has not done an adequate job as our elected state representative and now she wants to be a judge? We can’t see that she has any actual courtroom experience, but now she wants to be a judge? So is being a judge job security, and then a platform for running for something else?

Politics & Government

Election 2023: State Rep. Kristine Howard Runs For Judgeship

Howard serves on the state House Judiciary Committee and is a member of the Pennsylvania Juvenile Justice Taskforce.

By Holly Herman, Patch Staff

Mar 21, 2023 1:31 pm EDT | Updated Mar 22, 2023 9:23 pm EDT

MALVERN, PA – State Rep. Kristine Howard announced Tuesday her candidacy for a judgeship on the Chester County bench.

Howard is serving her third term representing District-167, which consists of Malvern borough and Charlestown, East Whiteland, West Pikeland, West Whiteland, West Vincent and East Caln townships.

There are five vacancies on the 12-judge bench.

So far, 12 candidates have announced they are running in the May primary for a 10-year term serving the residents of Chester County. Judges earn an annual salary of $197,119.

Howard, a lawyer, is serving her third, two-year term as a Democratic legislator after being reelected in November.

” My work as a legislator gives voters a clear picture of the perspective I will bring to the bench,” Howard said in announcing her candidacy. “I have an extensive voting record and have written and published my opinions on many topics.”

Howard of East Whiteland Township said her decision to run for the judge was not easy, noting she loves her job as a lawmaker, a job which provides the public with her position on issues impacting the resident of Pennsylvania…..According to the Pennsylvania Department of State, Howard and Judge Nicole Forzato are running on the Democratic ticket. The other 10 candidates cross-filed on both Republican and Democratic tickets.

They are Dave Black, Andy Rongaus, District Attorney Deb Ryan, P.J. Redmond, Don Kohler, Sheriff Fredda D. Maddox, Thomas McCabe, Judge Lou Mincarelli, Sarah Black, and District Judge Paige Simmons.

Her work as a legislator. Good to know she’s working right? Because it has been hard to tell and you rarely hear her actual voice. She’s pretty much invisible to her constituency as an elected official unless it’s a photo op for something.

Also look at who submitted that photo in the opening screenshot I captured from the Patch article which is really not an article but a press release? Isn’t that the guy who is supposedly both her political handler and fancy man? And you’ve seen him show up on campaign finance reports getting paid? If she was a judge, who would be the voice you heard adjudicating from the bench, him or her? What would he get out of her being judge?

Kristine Howard is also someone who always appears completely ill at ease speaking in public, and being a judge is a pretty public thing day in and day out, so how would she cope?

Then there is her LinkedIn. Again, you don’t see actual courtroom experience. You see that she has a law degree, but when someone is running for judge at this level, having a law degree isn’t enough, you need actual experience.

Running for judge of Common Please Court, is a big deal. And the Chester County Democrats did NOT endorse her either. Of course, that begs a different conversation of is the bloom off of the rose with her in Chester County?

PRESS RELEASE: CHESTER COUNTY DEMOCRATS ENDORSE CANDIDATES FOR STATE AND COUNTY-WIDE OFFICES

Feb 16, 2023

Chester County Democrats Choose State and County-wide Candidates for Party Endorsement

West Chester, PA. (February 16, 2023) – The Chester County Democratic Committee (CCDC) has selected candidates for endorsement for the 2023 Primary Election at its annual Endorsement Convention, held virtually on Wednesday evening.

Chairwoman Charlotte Valyo stressed the importance of the endorsement process, especially given cross-filing Republicans expected on the May 16 Democratic Primary Election ballot for non-political races. She also noted the recent election successes of Democratic candidates across the county, leading to several very competitive primary races.

Valyo stated “The Chester County Democratic Committee has successfully endorsed a full slate of candidates to run for Judicial and County seats in the 2023 election. The Democratic slate is representative of Chester County, the candidates are highly qualified, and will continue the Democrats’ record of governing responsibly for all Chester County residents.”

For state-wide races, the Committee endorsed Dan McCaffery for State Supreme Court; Jill Beck, Esq., and Judge Timika Lane for Superior Court; and Judge Matt Wolf for Commonwealth Court.

The Committee was proud to unanimously endorse incumbent Chester County Commissioners Josh Maxwell and Marian Moskowitz, along with incumbent Prothonotary Debbie Bookman. Current Register of Wills Michele Vaughn was also endorsed, although not unanimously. Earning first-time endorsements for open seats were District Attorney candidate Chris de Barrena-Sarobe, Esq., Recorder of Deeds candidate Diane O’Dwyer, and Kevin Dykes for Sheriff.

With a very unusual five openings on the Chester County Court of Common Pleas and 13 declared judicial candidates, that position proved to be extremely competitive, requiring several rounds of balloting to endorse Sarah Black, Esq., Judge Nicole Forzato, Sheriff Fredda Maddox, Esq., Thomas “Tip” McCabe, Esq., and DA Deborah Ryan, Esq.

This year’s Democratic Primary Election is May 16, 2023.

That is a fascinating press release. It also mentions the Register of Wills race. The incumbent was not universally endorsed by her party. Does that mean perhaps she should spend a little more time in the office? And Recorder of Deeds? That is an office that has seemed to have had messes and messy revolving door hasn’t it? And the woman whom they endorsed has been there through a lot of it and it’s still a mess, so why should we vote for her?

But that’s a conversation for another day. Let’s get back to Kristine Howard. if she decided for some strange reason that she had wanted to run for Magisterial District Justice , I would not have had a problem with that and why do you ask? Because that is the one judicial category where you do not have to have a law degree or be a lawyer. And technically, you don’t have to have quart room experience either. But State Rep Kristine Howard wants to run for Court of Common Pleas. She just doesn’t have the chops for this job.

I know we all have to get through the primary before we get to the general election. I almost wished that judges were a political as far as parties went, and they just ran as qualified or not qualified individuals. I personally do not want someone who is purely a politician to be a judge, and that doesn’t matter what political party they are. When somebody runs for judge, they have to have some kind of practical court experience that would qualify them for the Court of Common Pleas.

So Chester County Democrats you have a task ahead of you. You need to separate the wheat from the chaff. Most simply put, State Rep. Kristine Howard when it comes to a judicial race is sadly the chaff. I mean, if she’s tired of going to Harrisburg, she could always run for County Commissioner like State Rep Tim Briggs had been considering in Montgomery County until he changed his mind, right?

It’s not up to me to decide if Kristine Howard ends up on the fall 2023 election ballot. But I can tell you she won’t be my choice. She shouldn’t be yours as well. She just doesn’t have it to be a judge.

We need judges on the bench for the right reasons. Being a judge should not be a political steppingstone, or a place to hang out for a decade with a higher salary. I believe people who run for judge should have a true calling for it.

That’s it that’s all I’ve got to say the rest is up to the voters in May.