Will Braveman

Will Braveman (Democratic Party) is running for election for judge of the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas in Pennsylvania. He is on the ballot in the general election on November 4, 2025. He advanced from the Democratic primary on May 20, 2025.

Elections

2025

General election

General election for Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas (9 seats)

The following candidates are running in the general election for Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas on November 4, 2025.

		Candidate
		Will Braveman (D)
	Submit photo	Irina Ehrlich (D)
		Lawrence M. Farnese Jr. (D)
		Kia Ghee (D)
		Sarah Jones (D)
	Submit photo	Leon King II (D)
	Submit photo	Brian Kisielewski (D)
	Submit photo	Anthony Stefanski (D)
		Deborah Watson-Stokes (D)

	There are no incumbents in this race.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas (9 seats)

The following candidates ran in the Democratic primary for Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas on May 20, 2025.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Will Braveman	11.2	103,441
✔		Sarah Jones	11.2	103,042
✔		Deborah Watson-Stokes	11.0	100,952
✔		Kia Ghee	10.7	98,632
✔	Submit photo	Irina Ehrlich	10.7	98,458
✔		Lawrence M. Farnese Jr.	10.7	98,327
✔	Submit photo	Leon King II	10.0	92,483
✔	Submit photo	Brian Kisielewski	9.5	87,162
✔	Submit photo	Anthony Stefanski	8.2	75,539
		Taniesha Henry	6.6	61,041
		Other/Write-in votes	0.2	1,484

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 920,561
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Elliott Williams (D)
Sherrie Cohen (D)
Qawi Abdul-Rahman (D)
Michael Parkinson (D)
Mike Huff (D) (Unofficially withdrew)

Endorsements

Braveman received the following endorsements. To send us additional endorsements, click here.

Working Families Party

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]

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
✔	Submit photo	Chesley Lightsey (D)	8.2	175,248
✔	Submit photo	John Padova Jr. (D)	7.7	165,392
✔		Jessica Brown (D)	7.2	155,170
✔		Caroline Turner (D)	7.1	152,850
✔	Submit photo	Damaris Garcia (D)	6.6	141,108
✔	Submit photo	James Eisenhower (D)	6.5	138,927
✔	Submit photo	Elvin Ross (D)	6.0	128,519
✔	Submit photo	Raj Sandher (D)	5.8	124,315
		Other/Write-in votes	0.2	3,961

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	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.
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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
✔	Submit photo	John Padova Jr.	7.2	100,946
✔	Submit photo	Chesley Lightsey	6.5	91,646
✔		Brian McLaughlin	6.2	87,367
✔	Submit photo	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
	Submit photo	Qawi Abdul-Rahman	3.9	54,810
	Submit photo	Melissa Francis	3.5	48,868
	Submit photo	Joe Green	2.7	38,524
		Other/Write-in votes	0.1	865

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	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

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Braveman in this election.

Campaign themes

2025

Ballotpedia survey responses

Will Braveman has not yet completed Ballotpedia's 2025 Candidate Connection survey. Send a message to Will Braveman asking him to fill out the survey. If you are Will Braveman, click here to fill out Ballotpedia's 2025 Candidate Connection survey.

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You can ask Will Braveman to fill out this survey by using the buttons below or emailing info@bravemanforjudge.com.

2023

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

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

A lifelong Philadelphian, I started out as a law clerk for two judges. Thereafter, I worked in the City Law Department as an Assistant and Deputy City Solicitor for 12 years (Child Welfare Unit, Mental Health Unit, and Labor and Employment Unit). For the last 13 years, I have had a solo practice serving primarily as a union designated attorney(for over 1400 members), a discrimination victim advocate(in State Court, Federal Court and the underlying agencies), and a mental health patient attorney(four days each month for all patients listed at one specific hospital). Helping vulnerable and underserved people has always been a big part of my life and career. For each of the 13 years of my private practice, I have been given an award by the First Judicial District for my pro-bono work. My websites detail over 25 specific agencies or groups where I have volunteered.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

Whether a person is a party or a witness, many people walk into court in crisis. They deserve to be treated with respect.
People deserve to have a safe place to tell their stories. Court can become volatile and emotional. I would work hard to keep things calm in court, allowing for emotional stories to be told, but also working hard to facilitate an environment that feels as calm as possible.
If elected, it would be an honor to preside over a court that modeled dignity, fairness, equity, transparency, and respect for all, regardless of race, creed, color, religion, gender, gender orientation, age, disability, national origin, or socio-economic status.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Mental health continuity of services and the ongoing need to ensure that people have access to and are receiving appropriate treatment.

Employment discrimination and the ongoing need to take measures that guard against discrimination. I created an Employment Anti-Discrimination Taskforce through the Philadelphia Bar Association with this goal in mind.

Fair wages and safe employment working conditions. I have pursued claims against train companies over unsafe conditions, as well as large employers over unequal pay rates.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

I look up to the Judges for whom I clerked, and many judges before whom I appeared who were fair and passionate about dignity in the court.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

I believe the ability to intake complex information and stay calm in the face of adversity are both important for elected officials. My experience as a clerk and as a Solicitor landed me in court 3-5 days per week for 11 years. That experience made me grow a thick skin as to the volatility that can be inherent during court proceedings. I believe those experiences, as well as ongoing regular court appearances, hearings and trials, will serve me well if elected as a Judge.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

I care about doing the right thing, and about learning the truth. I always attempt to remain calm in the face of conflict.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

As a huge sports fan, I remember when the Phillies won the World Series in 1980. I was 13 at the time.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

The first job I held was making deliveries for a corner store when I was in 4th grade. I held it for about two years.

What is your favorite book? Why?

Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut. Great science fiction, funny, and cautionary tale regarding the dangers of wealth and industrial society.

Are there any little-known powers or responsibilities held by this office that you believe more people should be aware of?

The power to adopt administrative policies that impact justice, such as case management policies that can expedite cases.

The power to select a diverse court staff.

How would you describe your legal philosophy?

Dignity, fairness, equity, transparency, and respect for all, regardless of race, creed, color, religion, gender, gender orientation, age, disability, national origin, or socio-economic status.

Have you ever been rated by a Bar Association? If so, what was the rating?

Philadelphia Bar Association (rated Recommended by the Judicial Commission)

AFSCME District Council 33
Philadelphia Democratic Party
Former Philadelphia Mayor John Street
Senator Sharif Street, Pennsylvania Democratic Party Chair
Alice Ballard, Employment and Civil Rights Attorney
Philadelphia Metal Trades Workers Counsel: Louis Agre, President
Senator Tina Tartaglione
5th Ward Democrats
8th Ward Democrats
Sheet Metal Workers Local 19
AFSCME District Council 47
Plumbers Union Local 690
International Union of Painters and Allied Trades DC 21
IATSE LOCAL 8
Laborers' District Council
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 98
Roofers Local 30
Sprinkler Fitters Local 692
30th Ward Democrats
Philadelphia Young Democrats
18th Ward Democrats
21st Ward Democrats
22nd ward caucas Democrats
International Union of Operating Engineers Local 542
Regional Council Of Carpenters
PA Working Families Party
Philadelphia AFL CIO
27th Democratic Ward
Chairwoman City Commissioner Lisa Deeley
Majority Whip District 1 Councilmember Mark Squilla
Liberty City LGBTQ Democratic Club

Councilmember Katherine Gilmore Richardson

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.

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Candidate

Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas

Personal

Footnotes

Pennsylvania courts

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

[1] The Philadelphia Inquirer, "Three key Court of Common Pleas judicial seats are now up for grabs in Philly’s general election," September 8, 2023

[2] The Legal Intelligencer, "3 New Candidates Added to Ballot for 'Magic Seat' Spots on Phila. Bench," September 19, 2023

[1]

[2]

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Will Braveman

Contents

Elections

2025

General election

General election for Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas (9 seats)

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas (9 seats)

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Endorsements

2023

General election

General election for Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas (13 seats)

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas (13 seats)

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Endorsements

Campaign themes

2025

Ballotpedia survey responses

2023

See also

External links

Footnotes

Information about voting

2025 Elections

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