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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; She&#8217;s an authentic coal miner&#8217;s daughter and a rabid Pittsburgh Pirates fan, but candidate Christine Donohue would prefer to be known as an outstanding state Supreme Court judge.</p><p>Donohue, 62, of Pittsburgh, is running for a seat on the state&#8217;s highest court. She is one of three Democrats on the ballot; the other two are David N. Wecht and Kevin M. Dougherty. The three Republicans are Judith Olson, Michael A. George and Anne Covey.</p><p>Donohue said voters should choose her because of her background and experience. She said she was a practicing trial lawyer for 27 years, trying cases all over the U.S. before being elected to the state Superior Court in 2007.</p><p>&#8220;I am the longest serving appellate court judge seeking this office,&#8221; Donohue said in a stop in Wilkes-Barre Friday.</p><p>She said this is the first time in more than 300 years there are three open seats on the Supreme Court, which consists of seven judges.</p><p>Donohue is in her eighth year on the Superior Court and is the author of more than 2,000 decisions.</p><p>According to information provided by her staff, Donohue has, during her time on the court and as a practicing lawyer for 27 years, led or served on every board and tribunal in Pennsylvania established to enforce and ensure lawyers and judges comply with the highest standards of ethical conduct. Her background as a guardian of legal ethics will be central to her campaign message at a time when the Pennsylvania courts have been shaken by multiple ethical lapses and scandals.</p><p>Donohue, whose mother was a union seamstress from Carbon County, is a Duquesne University School of Law graduate and is listed in Best Lawyers in America, Pennsylvania Super Lawyers and Best Lawyers in Pittsburgh.</p><p>Donohue said she has been traveling around the state to get her message out and is hoping voters will cast their ballots in November. She said electing Supreme Court justices is critical and pointed to the next reapportionment in 2020 which determines congressional and legislative redistricting.</p><p>&#8220;For the public to not pay attention to this race would be a mistake,&#8221; she said.</p><p>Donohue said she spent $375,000 in the primary election and estimates more than $2 million will be spent in the general election campaign. Judicial candidates cannot ask for donations, but, as Donohue says, funding is critical to each candidate&#8217;s chances.</p><p>Despite the difficulty of raising money, Donohue said electing, rather than appointing, state judges is the best system.</p><p>&#8220;If judges were to be appointed, I think you would lose a lot of the transparency,&#8221; Donohue said. &#8220;We can&#8217;t ask for money, but we can&#8217;t win without it.&#8221;</p><p>This is just the second campaign for Donohue as she won her seat on the Superior Court after serving as a trial lawyer.</p><p>&#8220;We need people like me who come from the other side of the bench,&#8221; she said. &#8220;I think it&#8217;s important to have someone who didn&#8217;t come from the trial bench.&#8221;</p><p>Donohue said voters need to exercise their right to vote and believes municipal elections are important to communities that elect new mayors, council members and school directors.</p><p>&#8220;These are all very important positions to people&#8217;s lives,&#8221; she said. &#8220;We need to increase awareness not just to the judges&#8217; races, but to the election itself.&#8221;</p><p>In the fall of 1976 when Donohue departed Shamokin on her way to take the Law School Admission Test, she did not realize at the time she was setting out on a journey that would lead her to Duquesne University School of Law, a distinguished 27-year legal career in Pittsburgh and a seat on the Pennsylvania Superior Court.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Candidate for State Supreme Court Judge Christine Donohue speaks with Times Leader staff on Friday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/web1_TTL082215donohue1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Candidate for State Supreme Court Judge Christine Donohue speaks with Times Leader staff on Friday. </caption0><photoCredit0>Clark Van Orden | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Bill O&#8217;Boyle</p><p>boboyle@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Bill O&#8217;Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

State Supreme Court candidate brings campaign to Wilkes-Barre