PA, land where we vote for traffic court

I stayed up late last night to figure out who to vote for. There were City Council races. There were three dozen Democrats running for ten seats on the Court of Common Pleas. Several were not recommended by the bar association, so I eliminated them. Actually, I just went with the ones the Inquirer recommended. That was my research process. I am sure the other voters actually studied the candidates’ judicial philosophy and voted accordingly. But the area where I did some intense research was for the Traffic Court race, where there was only one vote allowed but a dozen candidates. Thank goodness Pennsylvania allows us to vote for this office. On the newspaper web site I found no endorsements, no discussion of the candidates, or anything else except an article headed Nine Phila. candidates late with finance filings. Four of the nine were Traffic Court hopefuls. Three of these commented, but the comment I liked was from Robert Tuerk: “We’re neophytes,” Tuerk said. “I’ve raised about $800 and spent about $1,000, some of my own money. . . . There’s nothing to hide, and I intend to file as quickly as possible.” Then I Googled “traffic court philadelphia primary election 2011,” and the very first hit was a link to a Craigslist ad for Tuerk seeking volunteers. (“Are you tired of living in a city that never changes?” it began.) It pointed out that, unlike the existing Traffic Court judges, Tuerk was actually an attorney. Sold.

When I went to vote, I found I had neglected to take along the address of the polling place. I thus relied on my steel-trap memory, recalled voting in November, and headed for the north side of the 1900 block of Christian Street. I entered the most likely building and descended the stairs, but when I saw some people in a room, they said they didn’t know about voting; one suggested trying upstairs. Back at the entrance was another man wondering if this was where to vote. It wasn’t. The upper floor’s doors were locked. So we walked out; at the corner a man on the street told us where to go. I mentioned the difficulty with choosing Traffic Court candidates to the other man, and started to tell him how I’d chosen, but he said to just tell him who to vote for. Robert Tuerk, I said. The polling place was over on Catherine Street. Unfortunately, it was not my polling place. I was told it was 2040 Christian and headed out, but then another poll worker chased me down. Nope, my place was 1724 Christian, the south side of the street. I got there with five minutes to spare. I was the 82nd voter; the poll worker confirmed my suspicion that this was a less-than-impressive total. But I did my part. Go Tuerk!

(As I approached my place, picking up trash on my block as I do, I was approached by a three- or four-year-old girl with no adult in sight. I had trouble understanding her but told her what I was doing. I asked where she lived, and she said across the street. She pointed out that I was bald. Odd encounter.)