Samantha Williams
Samantha Williams (Democratic Party) is a judge of the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas in Pennsylvania. She assumed office on January 1, 2024. Her current term ends on January 2, 2034.
Williams (Democratic Party) ran for election for judge of the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas in Pennsylvania. She won in the general election on November 7, 2023.
Williams completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2023. Click here to read the survey answers.
Elections
2023
Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas Judges Genece E. Brinkley, Joel S. Johnson, and Rayford A. Means filed to run for retention in 2023 but later withdrew.[1] As a result, 10 seats on the court were up in the primary election, but 13 seats were up in the general election on November 7, 2023. The Democratic Party nominated candidates James Eisenhower, Elvin Ross, and Raj Sandher to run for the additional three seats in the general election.[2]
See also: City elections in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (2023)
General election
General election for Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas (13 seats)
The following candidates ran in the general election for Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas on November 7, 2023.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Tamika Washington (D)  | 9.5 | 204,468 |
| ✔ |  | Natasha Taylor-Smith (D) | 9.4 | 201,305 |
| ✔ |  | Samantha Williams (D) | 8.9 | 190,770 |
| ✔ |  | Kay Yu (D) | 8.6 | 184,310 |
| ✔ |  | Brian McLaughlin (D) | 8.4 | 181,161 |
| ✔ | Chesley Lightsey (D) | 8.2 | 175,248 | |
| ✔ | John Padova Jr. (D) | 7.7 | 165,392 | |
| ✔ |  | Jessica Brown (D) | 7.2 | 155,170 |
| ✔ |  | Caroline Turner (D) | 7.1 | 152,850 |
| ✔ | Damaris Garcia (D) | 6.6 | 141,108 | |
| ✔ | James Eisenhower (D) | 6.5 | 138,927 | |
| ✔ | Elvin Ross (D) | 6.0 | 128,519 | |
| ✔ | Raj Sandher (D) | 5.8 | 124,315 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.2 | 3,961 | ||
| Total votes: 2,147,504 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas (13 seats)
The following candidates ran in the Democratic primary for Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas on May 16, 2023.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Natasha Taylor-Smith | 10.3 | 145,242 |
| ✔ | | Tamika Washington | 9.3 | 130,896 |
| ✔ | | Samantha Williams | 8.6 | 121,340 |
| ✔ | | Kay Yu | 7.8 | 109,961 |
| ✔ | John Padova Jr. | 7.2 | 100,946 | |
| ✔ | Chesley Lightsey | 6.5 | 91,646 | |
| ✔ | | Brian McLaughlin | 6.2 | 87,367 |
| ✔ | Damaris Garcia | 6.2 | 86,824 | |
| ✔ | | Caroline Turner | 6.1 | 86,095 |
| ✔ | | Jessica Brown | 5.8 | 81,517 |
 | Will Braveman | 5.6 | 78,447 | |
 | Wade Albert | 5.5 | 78,124 | |
 | Kenneth Joel | 5.0 | 69,900 | |
| Qawi Abdul-Rahman | 3.9 | 54,810 | ||
| Melissa Francis | 3.5 | 48,868 | ||
| Joe Green | 2.7 | 38,524 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.1 | 865 | ||
| Total votes: 1,411,372 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- MK Feeney (D)
- Colleen McIntyre Osborne (D)
- Aaron Bell (D)
Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Williams in this election.
Campaign themes
2023
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Samantha Williams completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2023. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Williams' responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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- I have a deep familiarity with the law—I’ve practiced it, written it, and taught it. I’ve tried hundreds of criminal trials to verdict as an Assistant District Attorney with the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office. I’ve written several laws that improved the quality of life of city residents in the areas of housing, employment, public safety and criminal justice reform. I’ve served as an Adjunct Professor for Temple Law’s National Trial Team Program, where I taught trial skills to law students and enhanced the quality of Philadelphia’s future attorneys.
- I have a track record of reforming our systems, including advancing laws that created good cause eviction protections for our most vulnerable residents, provided pathways for second chances for returning citizens and established the Citizens Police Oversight Commission, Philadelphia’s new, independent police oversight agency.
- I’ve dedicated my entire legal career to public service and addressing the needs of Philadelphians.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
See also
2023 Elections
External links
Footnotes
Federal courts:
Third Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Middle District of Pennsylvania, Western District of Pennsylvania • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Middle District of Pennsylvania, Western District of Pennsylvania
State courts:
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania • Pennsylvania Superior Court • Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court • Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas • Pennsylvania Magisterial Districts
State resources:
Courts in Pennsylvania • Pennsylvania judicial elections • Judicial selection in Pennsylvania
