Stella Tsai
Stella Tsai (Democratic Party) is a judge of the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court. She assumed office on January 5, 2026. Her current term ends on January 2, 2028.
Tsai (Democratic Party) ran in a special election for judge of the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court. She won in the special general election on November 4, 2025.
Biography
Tsai received a bachelor's degree from Pennsylvania State University in 1985 and a J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 1988.[1]
- 2016-Present: Judge, Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas
- 2007-2016: Partner, Archer & Greiner, PC
- 1998-2000; 2003-2007: Partner, Christie, Pabarue, Mortensen, and Young, PC
- 2003-2006: Counsel, Philadelphia Civil Service Commission
- 2000-2003: Chair, City of Philadelphia Law Department - Administrative Law[1]
Awards and associations
Awards
- 2014: Super Lawyer, Philadelphia Magazine
- 2014: Most Powerful and Influential Women Award, Pennsylvania Diversity Council
- 2013: Diversity Attorney of the Year, The Legal Intelligencer
- 2012: Community Champions of Zoning Code Reform, Philadelphia Association of Commercial Development Corporations
- 2012: Outstanding Scholar Alumnae of the Year, Schreyer Honors College of the Pennsylvania State University
- 2009: The Civil Rights Advocacy Award, Northwest Philadelphia Community Appreciation Awards Dinner by The Hon. Cherelle L. Parker
- 2009: The Alumni Award of Merit, University of Pennsylvania Law School Law Alumni Society
Associations
- 2012-Present: Board of trustees, Community College of Philadelphia
- 2012-Present: Member, First Presbyterian Church of Philadelphia
- 2012-Present: Delegate, Pennsylvania Bar Association’s House of Delegates, Zone 1
- 2008-2012: Vice-chair, City of Philadelphia Zoning Code Commission
- 2011: President, Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Pennsylvania
- 2006-2008: Member, City of Philadelphia Board of Ethics
- 2005-2009: Chairwoman, Women’s Law Project Board of Trustees
- 1999: Chairwoman, Philadelphia VIP[1]
Elections
2025
See also: Pennsylvania intermediate appellate court elections, 2025
General election
Special general election for Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court
Stella Tsai defeated Matthew Wolford in the special general election for Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court on November 4, 2025.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Stella Tsai (D) | 56.7 | 2,076,070 |
 | Matthew Wolford (R) | 43.3 | 1,584,223 | |
| Total votes: 3,660,293 | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Special Democratic primary for Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court
Stella Tsai advanced from the special Democratic primary for Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court on May 20, 2025.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Stella Tsai | 99.4 | 842,239 |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.6 | 4,957 | ||
| Total votes: 847,196 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Republican primary election
Special Republican primary for Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court
Matthew Wolford defeated Joshua Prince in the special Republican primary for Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court on May 20, 2025.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Matthew Wolford | 61.6 | 405,704 |
 | Joshua Prince | 37.8 | 248,863 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.6 | 3,855 | ||
| Total votes: 658,422 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Endorsements
Tsai received the following endorsements.
2017
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.[2]
| 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 | ||
2015
- See also: Pennsylvania judicial elections, 2015
Pennsylvania's judicial elections included a primary on May 19, 2015, and a general election on November 3, 2015. The filing deadline for candidates was March 11, 2015.
The following candidates ran in the general election.
| Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas, 12 seats, General Election, 2015 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Kenneth J. Powell, Jr. Incumbent |
9.4% | 150,720 | |
| Democratic | Mia Roberts-Perez |
9.1% | 145,722 | |
| Democratic | Kai Scott |
8.9% | 143,461 | |
| Democratic | Tracy Brandeis-Roman |
8.8% | 141,304 | |
| Democratic | Abbe Fletman Incumbent |
8.7% | 140,026 | |
| Democratic | Lyris Younge |
8.3% | 133,420 | |
| Democratic | Stephanie M. Sawyer |
7.8% | 124,875 | |
| Democratic | Michael Fanning Incumbent |
7.5% | 119,823 | |
| Democratic | Chris Mallios |
7.5% | 119,757 | |
| Democratic | Daine A. Grey Jr. |
7.4% | 119,141 | |
| Democratic | Rainy Papademetriou |
7.3% | 117,702 | |
| Democratic | Scott Diclaudio |
7.0% | 112,577 | |
| Republican | Vincent Furlong | 2.3% | 36,186 | |
| Total Votes | 1,604,714 | |||
| Source: Pennsylvania Department of State, "Unofficial General Election Results," November 3, 2015 | ||||
The following candidates ran in the Democratic primary.
Endorsements
- Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Pennsylvania[3]
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]
Campaign themes
2025
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Stella Tsai did not complete Ballotpedia's 2025 Candidate Connection survey.
Campaign finance summary
Ballotpedia currently provides campaign finance data for all federal- and state-level candidates from 2020 and later. We are continuously working to expand our data to include prior elections. That information will be published here as we acquire it. If you would like to help us provide this data, please consider donating to Ballotpedia.
See also
2025 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Meet and Greet Stella Tsai document via an email from campaign committee on April 16, 2015
- ↑ Pennsylvania Department of State, "Candidate Database," accessed March 20, 2017
- ↑ APABA-PA Press Release via an email from campaign committee on April 16, 2015
- ↑ 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
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
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