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Tamika Washington

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Tamika Washington
Image of Tamika Washington
Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas
Tenure

2024 - Present

Term ends

2034

Years in position

1

Elections and appointments
Last elected

November 7, 2023

Contact

Tamika Washington (Democratic Party) is a judge of the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas in Pennsylvania. Washington assumed office on January 1, 2024. Washington's current term ends on January 2, 2034.

Washington (Democratic Party) ran for election for judge of the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas in Pennsylvania. Washington won in the general election on November 7, 2023.

Washington 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
Image of Tamika Washington
Tamika Washington (D) Candidate Connection
 
9.5
 
204,468
Image of Natasha Taylor-Smith
Natasha Taylor-Smith (D)
 
9.4
 
201,305
Image of Samantha Williams
Samantha Williams (D) Candidate Connection
 
8.9
 
190,770
Image of Kay Yu
Kay Yu (D) Candidate Connection
 
8.6
 
184,310
Image of Brian McLaughlin
Brian McLaughlin (D) Candidate Connection
 
8.4
 
181,161
Chesley Lightsey (D)
 
8.2
 
175,248
John Padova Jr. (D)
 
7.7
 
165,392
Image of Jessica Brown
Jessica Brown (D) Candidate Connection
 
7.2
 
155,170
Image of Caroline Turner
Caroline Turner (D) Candidate Connection
 
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 Connection = 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
Image of Natasha Taylor-Smith
Natasha Taylor-Smith
 
10.3
 
145,242
Image of Tamika Washington
Tamika Washington Candidate Connection
 
9.3
 
130,896
Image of Samantha Williams
Samantha Williams Candidate Connection
 
8.6
 
121,340
Image of Kay Yu
Kay Yu Candidate Connection
 
7.8
 
109,961
John Padova Jr.
 
7.2
 
100,946
Chesley Lightsey
 
6.5
 
91,646
Image of Brian McLaughlin
Brian McLaughlin Candidate Connection
 
6.2
 
87,367
Damaris Garcia
 
6.2
 
86,824
Image of Caroline Turner
Caroline Turner Candidate Connection
 
6.1
 
86,095
Image of Jessica Brown
Jessica Brown Candidate Connection
 
5.8
 
81,517
Image of Will Braveman
Will Braveman Candidate Connection
 
5.6
 
78,447
Image of Wade Albert
Wade Albert Candidate Connection
 
5.5
 
78,124
Image of Kenneth Joel
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 Connection = 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

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Washington in this election.

2021

Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas Judges Gary S. Glazer, James Murray Lynn, Arnold L. New, and Robert J. Rebstock filed to run for retention in 2021, but later withdrew.[3] As a result, eight seats on the court were up in the primary election, but 12 seats were up in the general election on November 2, 2021. The Democratic Party nominated candidates Monica Gibbs, Leanne Litwin, Mark Moore, and John Sabatina Jr. to run for the additional four seats in the general election.[4][5]

See also: City elections in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (2021)

General election

General election for Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas (12 seats)

The following candidates ran in the general election for Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas on November 2, 2021.

Candidate
%
Votes
Wendi Barish (D)
 
8.9
 
154,312
Nick Kamau (D)
 
8.8
 
153,790
Michele Hangley (D)
 
8.7
 
151,677
Image of Chris Hall
Chris Hall (D) Candidate Connection
 
8.7
 
150,829
Cateria McCabe (D)
 
8.7
 
150,727
Image of Betsy Wahl
Betsy Wahl (D)
 
8.6
 
149,577
Image of Mark Moore
Mark Moore (D)
 
8.2
 
142,964
Image of Daniel Sulman
Daniel Sulman (D)
 
8.2
 
142,625
Craig Levin (D)
 
8.1
 
141,424
Monica Gibbs (D)
 
8.0
 
139,573
Image of John Sabatina Jr.
John Sabatina Jr. (D)
 
7.6
 
132,348
Leanne Litwin (D)
 
7.3
 
127,834
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.2
 
3,877

Total votes: 1,741,557
Candidate Connection = 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 (12 seats)

The following candidates ran in the Democratic primary for Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas on May 18, 2021.

Candidate
%
Votes
Nick Kamau
 
9.5
 
103,129
Wendi Barish
 
9.3
 
100,441
Cateria McCabe
 
9.0
 
97,570
Image of Betsy Wahl
Betsy Wahl
 
8.2
 
88,302
Image of Chris Hall
Chris Hall Candidate Connection
 
8.0
 
86,610
Michele Hangley
 
7.1
 
76,359
Craig Levin
 
6.9
 
74,215
Image of Daniel Sulman
Daniel Sulman
 
6.8
 
73,017
Image of Caroline Turner
Caroline Turner
 
6.7
 
72,066
Image of Mark Moore
Mark Moore
 
5.9
 
63,510
Image of Tamika Washington
Tamika Washington
 
5.8
 
63,090
Terri Booker
 
4.8
 
52,270
John Padova Jr.
 
4.7
 
50,506
Maurice Houston
 
2.8
 
29,864
Rick Cataldi Candidate Connection
 
2.3
 
24,632
Image of Patrick Moran
Patrick Moran
 
2.3
 
24,305

Total votes: 1,079,886
Candidate Connection = 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

Campaign themes

2023

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Candidate Connection

Tamika Washington completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2023. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Washington's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

I am a judge, making decisions that affect people for the rest of their lives. I am married, and my husband and I have four young men. As a parent, I have learned to be both stern and compassionate.

I spent the past 20 years advocating for the voiceless and serving the needs of the community. I understand the range of emotions people experience in a courtroom, because I stood with parents who sought custody of their children from foster care, defendants as they sought a fair trial, and workers who were discriminated against on their jobs.

I started a Legal Ministry at Sharon Baptist Church in Philadelphia where, for over 12 years, I sought to educate the community on their rights during police interactions and in obtaining legal resources.

As a former Assistant City Solicitor, I successfully litigated hundreds of cases involving the well-being of children. After that, at my own law firm, for over 12 years, I fought on-the-job discrimination in federal court, and helped families protect their property and correct fraudulent title in Philadelphia court.

I was added to the Pro Bono Roll of Honor for my work on behalf of people who could not afford legal services.

In my courtroom, bias is not tolerated. I ensure that everyone, without favor to race, identity or belief, is heard and has a fair trial.

I would like to continue to impact the lives of the people of Philadelphia, but I can only do it with your help. I ask for your support and vote.
  • I spent the past 20 years advocating for the voiceless and serving the needs of the community.
  • Everyone, without favor to race, identity or belief, is heard and has a fair trial in my courtroom.
  • I have the respect, integrity, experience and compassion necessary to serve the people of Philadelphia.
Every person who is being tried has a right to a fair trial. Additionally, that person has a right to be notified of the matter against the person, and the date and time of the trial.
A judge can only run a courtroom after having a full understanding of the laws and the rules of procedure in the courts. Trial experience is essential to this knowledge. As I have handled trials in Philadelphia courts for 20 years, along with federal and appeals court, I have that experience.

Tremendous patience is also essential to this job, along with empathy and the ability to understand people from all different walks of life. This only comes from real life experience. Helping people from all walks of life, as an attorney and a community advocate, has given me this experience.
As a teenager, I was a math and science tutor to elementary school children part-time. I had it for a little less than two years until my parents discovered that my high school physics grade had gone down. Though I was not happy about it, the choice for them was easy.
I have a number of favorite books, including "A Civil Action" by Jonathan Harr. I like it because while it tells the true story of innocent victims of corporate greed, it has a "happy ending" that makes one question whether justice was really served.
Yes. While I must apply the rules to the facts, empathy allows me to see the persons before me as exactly that--people. Taking the time to understand the person and the circumstances gives me the tools to give the ruling I am required to give in a fair and respectful manner.
Yes, I am recommended by the Philadelphia Bar Association. That means that after a long investigative process, including interviewing attorneys I have tried cases against, and judges I have appeared before, the Philadelphia Bar Association recommends me for the position of judge.
I became an attorney because at a very young age, I wanted to help people. I have spent the majority of my career serving the public. I have the experience, the integrity and the compassion needed to serve the public in this most difficult position. I would like to continue serving the citizens of Philadelphia as a judge because there is much more work to be done. I want to keep making an impact in people's everyday lives.
Philadelphia Democratic City Committee, Sheetmetal Workers Local 19, Sprinkler Fitters Local 692, Plumbers and Gasfitters 690, and several Democratic wards.

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.

2021

Tamika Washington did not complete Ballotpedia's 2021 Candidate Connection survey.

See also


External links

Footnotes