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Mark B. Cohen (Pennsylvania)
2018 - Present
2028
7
Mark B. Cohen is a judge for the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas in Pennsylvania. Cohen won the seat in the general election on November 7, 2017.
Cohen is a former Democratic member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, representing District 202 from 1974 to 2016. He was first elected to the chamber after he won a special election on May 21, 1974. He also served as Majority Caucus Leader. He previously served as Democratic Majority Whip from 1993 to 1994 and as Majority Caucus Chairman from 2007 to 2010.
Biography
Cohen was born on June 4, 1949. He earned his B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1970, his J.D. from the Widener School of Law in 1993 and his MBA from the Lebanon Valley College in 2000. He later attended Graduate Work at Temple University, Gratz College, and Pennsylvania State.[1]
Elections
2017
Pennsylvania held local judicial elections on November 7, 2017. A primary election occurred on May 16, 2017. The filing deadline for candidates who wished to run in this election was March 7, 2017. Candidates and recently appointed judges of the Courts of Common Pleas must initially run in partisan elections. Subsequent terms are won through retention elections. Elections for the Magisterial District Courts are always partisan. Pennsylvania allows cross-filing for candidates running in partisan elections. Most candidates run in both the Democratic and Republican primaries.[2]
The following candidates ran in the general election for nine seats on the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas.
| Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas, General Election, 2017 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic/Republican |  Vincent Furlong Incumbent |
12.28% | 158,194 | |
| Democratic | Stella Tsai Incumbent |
11.55% | 148,795 | |
| Democratic | Lucretia Clemons Incumbent |
11.36% | 146,413 | |
| Democratic | Deborah Canty |
11.30% | 145,571 | |
| Democratic | Viktoria Kristiansson |
11.22% | 144,525 | |
| Democratic | Zac Shaffer |
11.05% | 142,417 | |
| Democratic | Deborah D. Cianfrani |
10.46% | 134,774 | |
| Democratic | Shanese Johnson |
10.43% | 134,376 | |
| Democratic | Mark B. Cohen |
10.35% | 133,374 | |
| Total Votes | 1,288,439 | |||
| Source: Pennsylvania Department of State, "2017 Municipal Election," accessed December 21, 2017 | ||||
The following candidates ran in the Democratic primary for nine open seats on the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas.[3]
| Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas, Democratic Primary, 2017 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Stella Tsai Incumbent |
7.73% | 63,980 |
| Viktoria Kristiansson |
7.57% | 62,656 |
| Lucretia Clemons Incumbent |
5.68% | 47,015 |
| Deborah D. Cianfrani |
5.30% | 43,838 |
| Zac Shaffer |
4.79% | 39,633 |
| Deborah Canty |
4.74% | 39,239 |
| Shanese Johnson |
4.45% | 36,792 |
| Mark B. Cohen |
4.41% | 36,461 |
| Vincent Furlong Incumbent |
4.34% | 35,904 |
| Jennifer Schultz | 4.14% | 34,224 |
| Daniel Sulman Incumbent | 4.11% | 33,984 |
| Leon Goodman | 4.03% | 33,338 |
| Wendi Barish | 3.85% | 31,831 |
| Henry McGregor Sias | 3.81% | 31,526 |
| Rania Major | 3.67% | 30,393 |
| John Macoretta | 3.60% | 29,829 |
| David Conroy | 3.44% | 28,453 |
| Brian McLaughlin | 3.17% | 26,214 |
| Crystal Powell | 2.99% | 24,756 |
| Vincent Melchiorre Incumbent | 2.94% | 24,360 |
| Lawrence Bozzelli | 2.88% | 23,862 |
| Danyl Patterson | 2.00% | 16,582 |
| Terri Booker | 1.71% | 14,176 |
| Leonard Deutchman | 1.52% | 12,590 |
| Mark Moore | 1.49% | 12,305 |
| Jon Marshall | 0.92% | 7,584 |
| William Rice | 0.72% | 5,985 |
| Total Votes | 827,510 | |
| Source: Pennsylvania Department of State, "2017 Primary Judge of the Court of Common Pleas," accessed May 16, 2017 | ||
Selection method
- See also: Partisan election of judges
The 439 judges of the court of common pleas are elected to 10-year terms in partisan elections. Candidates may cross-file with both political parties for the partisan primaries, which are followed by general elections where the primary winners from each party compete.[4][5] Judges must run in yes-no retention elections if they wish to continue serving after their first term. A separate part of the ballot is designated for these elections, and judges' names appear without respect to party affiliation.[4][6]
- The president judge of each Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas is chosen by either peer vote or seniority, depending on the size of the court. Statewide, all courts composed of more than seven individuals must select their chief judge by peer vote. Those with seven or fewer members select their chief by seniority.[4][7]
Qualifications
To serve on an appellate or general jurisdiction court, a judge must:[4]
- have state residence for at least one year;
- be a district resident for at least one year (for common pleas judges);
- be a member of the state bar; and
- be under the age of 75.
While retirement at 75 is mandatory, judges may apply for senior judge status. Senior judges may serve as such until the last day of the calendar year in which they turn 78.[7]
2016
Elections for the Pennsylvania House of Representatives took place in 2016. The primary election was held on April 26, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was February 16, 2016.
Jared Solomon ran unopposed in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 202 general election.[8][9]
| Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 202, General Election, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Democratic | Jared Solomon (unopposed) | |
| Source: Pennsylvania Department of State | ||
Jared Solomon defeated incumbent Mark Cohen in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 202 Democratic primary.[10][11]
| Pennsylvania House of Representatives, District 202 Democratic Primary, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Jared Solomon |
56.93% | 5,111 | |
| Democratic | Mark Cohen Incumbent | 43.07% | 3,867 | |
| Total Votes | 8,978 | |||
2014
House
Elections for the Pennsylvania House of Representatives took place in 2014. A primary election took place on May 20, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was March 11, 2014. Incumbent Mark Cohen defeated Jared Solomon in the Democratic primary. Cohen was unchallenged in the general election.[12][13][14]
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|---|---|---|
|
Mark Cohen Incumbent |
51.8% | 2,281 |
| Jared Solomon | 48.2% | 2,123 |
| Total Votes | 4,404 | |
Congress
Cohen discussed potentially running in the 2014 election for the U.S. House to represent Pennsylvania's 13th District. Cohen terminated his campaign for Congress on August 14, 2013.[15]
2012
Cohen ran in the 2012 election for Pennsylvania House District 202. Cohen defeated Numa St. Louis in the Democratic primary on April 24 and was unchallenged in the general election on November 6, 2012.[16][17]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Mark Cohen Incumbent |
100% | 21,832 | |
| Total Votes | 21,832 | |||
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|---|---|---|
|
Mark Cohen Incumbent |
63.5% | 3,597 |
| Numa St. Louis | 36.5% | 2,064 |
| Total Votes | 5,661 | |
2010
Cohen won re-election to District 202 in 2010. He had no primary opposition and was unchallenged in the general election which took place on November 2, 2010.[18]
| Pennsylvania State House, District 202 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
| Mark Cohen (D)
|
13,732 | 100.0% | ||
2008
On November 4, 2008, Cohen won re-election to District 202 of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. He received 22,049 votes while running unopposed.[19]
| Pennsylvania House of Representatives, District 203 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
| Mark B. Cohen (D)
|
22,049 | 100.0% | ||
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Cohen and his wife, Mona, have one daughter.[1]
State legislative tenure
Committee assignments
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Cohen served on the following committees:
| Pennsylvania committee assignments, 2015 |
|---|
| • State Government, Democratic Chair |
2013-2014
In the 2013-2014 legislative session, Cohen served on the following committees:
| Pennsylvania committee assignments, 2013 |
|---|
| • State Government, Democratic Chair |
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Cohen served on these committees:
| Pennsylvania committee assignments, 2011 |
|---|
| • Health |
| • Human Services, Chair |
2009-2010
In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Cohen served on these committees:
| Pennsylvania committee assignments, 2009 |
|---|
| • Intergovernmental Affairs |
| • Rules |
| • State Government |
| • Urban Affairs |
Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Pennsylvania scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
2016
In 2016, the Pennsylvania General Assembly was in session from January 5 through November 30.
- American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania: 2016-2016 legislative scorecard
- Legislators are scored based on their voting record for bills relating to civil liberties.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to medical marijuana.
- Pennsylvania Environmental scorecard: 2015-2016 scorecard
- Legislators are scored on their votes on environmental issues.
- Pennsylvania National Federation of Independent Business: 2016 voting record
- Legislators are scored on their votes on small business issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
2015
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2015, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2015, the Pennsylvania General Assembly was in session from January 6 through December 31.
|
2014
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2014, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2014, the Pennsylvania General Assembly was in session from January 7 through November 12.
|
2013
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2013, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2013, the Pennsylvania General Assembly was in session from January 2 to December 31.
|
2012
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2012, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2012, the Pennsylvania General Assembly was in session from January 3 to November 30.
|
2011
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2011, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2011, the Pennsylvania General Assembly was in session from January 4 through November 30.
|
See also
- Pennsylvania House of Representatives
- Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas, Pennsylvania
- Pennsylvania local judicial elections, 2017
External links
|
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 www.pahouse.com/cohen, "Biography," accessed May 12, 2014
- ↑ Pennsylvania Department of State, "2017 Election Calendar," accessed February 23, 2017
- ↑ Pennsylvania Department of State, "Candidate Database," accessed March 20, 2017
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Pennsylvania," archived October 3, 2014
- ↑ The Morning Call, "Ban Cross-filing As One Step," January 24, 1985
- ↑ The Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania, "In Re: Nomination Papers of Marakay Rogers, Christina Valente and Carl J. Romanelli," November 7, 2006
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 The Pennsylvania Code, "Chapter 7. Assignment of Judges," accessed September 3, 2014
- ↑ Pennsylvania Voter Services, "Candidate listing," accessed August 31, 2016
- ↑ Pennsylvania Department of State, "November 8, 2016, official election results," accessed May 17, 2017
- ↑ Pennsylvania Secretary of State, "Election Information," accessed February 18, 2016
- ↑ Pennsylvania Department of State, "2016 Presidential Primary," accessed August 2, 2016
- ↑ Pennsylvania Department of State, "Official primary results for May 20, 2014," accessed July 9, 2014
- ↑ Pennsylvania Department of State, "2014 Official Candidate Listing," accessed March 21, 2014
- ↑ Pennsylvania Department of State, "2014 General Election," accessed December 5, 2014
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "COHEN FOR THE MIDDLE CLASS Termination Report," accessed November 11, 2013
- ↑ Pennsylvania Department of State, "Official Primary Results," accessed April 15, 2014
- ↑ Pennsylvania Department of State, "2012 Primary Candidate List," April 15, 2014
- ↑ Pennsylvania Department of State, "2010 General Election Results," accessed May 2, 2014
- ↑ Pennsylvania Department of State, "Official 2008 General Election Results," accessed April 15, 2014
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas 2018-Present |
Succeeded by - |
| Preceded by - |
Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 202 1974-2016 |
Succeeded by Jared Solomon (D) |
| ||||||||||
