Our Endorsed Candidates

2025 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018

Following weeks of learning about the candidates on the Club’s 2025 Candidate guide and after an afternoon of candidate presentations at the Schenley Park Skating Rink today, members of the influential 14^th Ward Independent Democratic Club voted on April 6, 2025 to endorse candidates for all offices on the ballot in the upcoming May 20, 2025 primary election.

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Statewide appellate courts

About Stella Campaign Website

Stella Tsai

Stella Tsai now serves as a Judge of the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas, Orphans’ CourtDivision, having served with distinction in the Criminal, Civil, and Family Court Divisions. Judge Tsai is well-known for her legal acumen, writing, professionalism, high ethical standards, and commitment to justice. A graduate of University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School (1988) and The Pennsylvania State University (1985), Judge Tsai has earned honors for professional excellence, community involvement, and ethics. Born in Harrisburg to immigrant parents who came to Pennsylvania seeking political and personal freedom, Judge Tsai grew up with a deep appreciation for democracy.

About Brandon Campaign Website

Brandon Neuman

Since 2017, Judge Neuman has served on the Washington County Court of Common Pleas, during which he has presided over family, criminal, civil and veteran’s specialty court proceedings. Prior to joining the bench, Judge Neuman was elected to 4 terms in the PA House of Representatives where he authored landmark legislation to reform the processing of rape kits. A lifelong resident of Washington County, Judge Neuman lives in Eighty Four with his wife and four children.

Allegheny Court of Common Pleas

(listed in the order they will appear on the ballot)

About Amanda Campaign Website

Amanda Green-Hawkins

Amanda Green-Hawkins graduated from Northeastern University School of Law in 2001. Passed the Bar in 2003 and has been actively practicing law for the 22 years since then. During her career she has tried approximately 25 cases.

Amanda is a wife and a mother, who manages to work full-time as a union lawyer.

Amanda served on Allegheny County Council (2008-2015), and led the passage of legislation that prohibits discrimination based on gender identity or expression. In 2019, Amanda was the PA Democratic nominee for Superior Court judge.

Amanda is a voter-protection attorney and served on the PA Democratic Party’s Lawyers Steering Committee. Amanda serves on the boards of several non-profit organizations, and has frequently appeared as a guest on television in the Pittsburgh area.

Amanda has received numerous awards for her leadership in politics and in the community, and was appointed to Pittsburgh’s Community Task Force on Police Reform.

An alumna of Duke University and Northeastern University School of Law, Amanda was an Adjunct Professor teaching Labor Law in her most recent endeavor to pay it forward.

About Bryan Campaign Website

Bryan Neft

Bryan graduated from the Boston University School of Law in 1989 and passed the bar in 1990. Bryan has practiced law as a trial attorney for 30 years since 1990. During that time, he tried between 15-20 cases.

Bryan is a fourth generation-Pittsburgher. He and his wife Julie, live in Mt. Lebanon where they raised their three children. Bryan received his undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania and his law degree from Boston University. Although he started his career in Pittsburgh working for several local law firms as a clerk, his career began in earnest in 1991 when he took a position as a clerk for a judge on the Pennsylvania Superior Court. There he became familiar with all of the types of cases that go before the Courts of Common Pleas, and since then he has practiced in all of the divisions of the Court of Common Pleas. Bryan has been a leader in the Allegheny County Bar Association and other community organizations.

About Quita Campaign Website

Quita Bridges

Quita Bridges graduated from Duquesne University School of Law in 1996. Passed the Bar in 1997 and has been actively practicing law for the 27 years since then. During her career she has tried approximately 400 cases.

Quita Bridges was recently appointed by Governor Shapiro to serve on the Court of Common Pleas. She is assigned to the Criminal Division. She received a Highly Recommended by the Allegheny County Bar Association. Quita has 26 years of trial experience. As the Assistant Chief Deputy Attorney General for the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General, Quita supervised attorneys in the day to day operation of the criminal prosecution section in Western Pennsylvania.

Quita worked 16 years for the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office, where she served as Deputy District Attorney. She supervised 18 Assistant District Attorneys, prosecuted homicide, child abuse and domestic violence cases. She also supervised the ARD Program and Miscellaneous Motions Court.

About Alyssa Campaign Website

Alyssa Cowan

Alyssa Cowan graduated from Temple University Beasley School of Law in 2004. Passed the Bar in 2004 and has been actively practicing as a trial attorney for the past 17 years. During her career she has tried approximately 500 cases as sole counsel.

Appointed to the Court of Common Pleas by Governor Shapiro, Judge Alyssa Cowan is uniquely qualified to earn your vote. Judge Cowan teaches child and family advocacy courses at the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Social Work, is a proud union member, and has previously served as supervisory Assistant County Solicitor in the Allegheny County Law Department. Having spent thousands of hours in the courtroom, Judge Cowan knows that the days spent by families in front of a judge are some of the most difficult of their entire lives. To that point, she has one simple yet important commitment: treat any member of your family, should they appear before her, with the care and attention she’d want for her own.

About Lauren Campaign Website

Lauren Leiggi

Lauren Leiggi graduated from Temple Law School in 2021. Passed the Bar in 2021 and has been actively practicing law for the 4 years since then. During her career she has worked on approximately 25-30 cases that have gone to trial. She has been the lead on three jury trials and sat as second seat on two.

Lauren is a Public Defender, representing indigent clients facing criminal charges across the county. Lauren has advocated for thousands of clients at every stage of trial with cases ranging from DUIs to attempted homicide. Lauren is the lead attorney for the immigration consequences group, which advises individuals facing criminal charges about potential immigration ramifications and coordinates with local and international immigration organizations. Lauren intimately understands how our community is impacted by the daily decisions made in the Court of Common Pleas.

Lauren’s dedication to public service spans over a decade. Lauren currently serves as the Local Bargaining Unit President in the new USW Local 9002 amalgamation, representing Public Defenders, Assistant District Attorneys, Medical Examiners and Court Records employees. Lauren graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and Temple Law School, and she currently lives in Point Breeze North with her wife Sarah and their rescue animals..

About Jaime Campaign Website

Jaime Hickton

Jaime Hickton graduated from Duquesne School of Law in 2013. Passed the Bar in 2014 and has been actively practicing law for the 11 years since then. During Jaime’s career she has tried approximately 40 cases.

Jaime is a former union member, respected attorney and advocate with nearly 20 years experience in criminal defense, family law and juvenile justice. Raised in the South Hills of Pittsburgh, Jaime is the first in her immediate family to attend college and proud to have put herself through Duquesne School of Law. Jaime’s blue-collar upbringing informs a strong work ethic and a relentless passion to fight for what’s right—skills she now brings to her legal practice to protect children and help clients navigate complex legal challenges. A former Judicial Law

Clerk and Child Abuse Prosecutor, Jaime is a Board Member for Planned Parenthood of Western PA and Pittsburgh Action Against Rape. Jaime and her wife are proud parents of three adopted children—two with special needs—making Jaime uniquely qualified to understand and navigate the child welfare system. Fair, experienced and deeply compassionate, Jaime is ready to bring her experience to the bench.

About Ilan Campaign Website

Ilan Zur

Ilan graduated from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law in 1998 and passed the bar in 1998. Ilan has practiced law since 1998 and spent 26 years as a trial attorney. During that time, he tried over 400 cases before judges and juries including 60 homicide trials.

Ilan moved to Pittsburgh in 1990 to attend Carnegie Mellon University, graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Management and a Minor in Architecture. In 1998, he began working as an Assistant District Attorney in Allegheny County’s District Attorney’s Office shortly after graduating from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. Ilan was promoted to his current position as Deputy District Attorney in 2013 and charged with supervising the Violent Crimes and Firearms Unit. Ilan lives in Squirrel Hill with his wife Lisa and their three children.

About Anthony Campaign Website

Anthony DeLuca

Anthony DeLuca graduated from University of PIttsburgh School of Law in 1997. He passed the Bar in 1997 and has been actively practicing law since then, working as a trial attorney for 25 years. During his career he has tried over 100 cases.

Much of Anthony’s work is as a Union Labor Attorney representing multiple Teamsters Locals in a wide variety of industries both public and private. Anthony is also a criminal defense attorney who is very proud of being heavily involved in the implementation and development of Mental Health Court in Allegheny County. Anthony is passionate about helping those with mental health and addiction struggles receive the treatment that they need. Anthony has tried hundreds of cases in Pennsylvania courts and run a successful law practice. There are reforms he would like to make to the Criminal Justice System.

Allegheny County Sheriff

About Kevin Campaign Website

About Kevin

Kevin M. Kraus was sworn in as the 53rd Sheriff of Allegheny County, marking a milestone in his distinguished career of public service. Before being elected Sheriff in 2021, he served as Chief Deputy for 11 years, second-in-command. Sheriff Kraus’ leadership stems from his 21-year service with the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police, where he rose through the ranks of Detective, Sergeant, and Lieutenant of Major Crimes in Investigations. Sheriff Kraus is also an alumnus of La Roche University, the prestigious F.B.I. National Academy and received police executive training at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Mayor of Pittsburgh

About Corey Campaign Website

About Corey

Corey was elected to City Council to represent District 5 in 2011 and has served as County Controller since 2022. Some of his achievements include authoring the City’s Paid Sick Days Act and passing gun control measures, and his recent audit revealing millions of dollars in unused funding for communities plagued by air pollution. As Mayor, Corey will grow the city by investing in housing and strong main street business districts. He’ll prioritize renewing our parks and playgrounds and he’ll bring Pittsburgh’s major nonprofits to the table to finally ensure that they pay their fair share. Corey and his wife, Katie, live in Point Breeze with their two children.

Pittsburgh City Council – District 8

About Erika Campaign Website

About Erika

Erika Strassburger is a member of Pittsburgh City Council, proudly serving the residents of the 8th District since April 2018. She is the first woman elected to this seat. She has passed legislation to guard against discrimination for numerous populations throughout Pittsburgh; secured legislation on single-use plastic bags; and helped enable red light enforcement cameras to come to Pittsburgh to help curb dangerous driving. In response to the October 27, 2018 mass shooting targeting three Squirrel Hill Jewish congregations, she helped lead the way on a package of common sense gun reform and violence prevention ordinances and continues to work against hate and bias throughout the region.

Pittsburgh Public Schools Board of Directors

District 1

Tawana Cook Purnell

About Tawana Campaign Website

About Tawana

Tawana Cook Purnell was born and raised in Pittsburgh, is a proud graduate of Pittsburgh Public Schools, and has a Master’s degree in School Leadership from Columbia University’s Teachers College. Tawana committed her career to working with students of all ages as a teacher, principal, and board member. As a PPS board member for District 1, Tawana will work diligently with the board, superintendent, staff, students, families, and community to address the complex issues facing our district. Resolutions will require different approaches including data-driven research, clear and transparent communication, new and proven “best practices”, and a willingness to think outside the box. All, however, will require community input, hard work, listening to all voices, and a willingness to change. Tawana has spent her career working to improve educational experience and outcomes for students and looks forward to continuing that work for the students, staff and families of Pittsburgh Public Schools.

District 5

Tracey Reed

About Tracey

Tracey was raised in the Hilltop community of Beltzhoover. As a student at Beltzhoover Elementary School, Tracey learned that great teaching and a supportive learning environment are the foundations of effective schooling. She began her career as a high school English teacher in Frederick, Maryland. Tracey earned a Masters’ Degree in Public Administration and a Ph.D. in Educational Policy Studies from the University of Virginia. Currently, she is a Program Officer with the Grable Foundation and serves on a number of non-profit boards. Tracey is the second vice-president of the Pittsburgh Public Schools Board of Directors.

Campaign Website