In Thursday's Post-Gazette, an ad was run by the Judicial Excellence Committee of the Allegheny County Bar Association concerning various candidates running for judicial positions. The ad has the appearance, intended or otherwise, of being an endorsement or nonendorsement of certain candidates. This is somewhat misleading, at least as it relates to the judicial races for courts that serve the entire state (i.e., Supreme, Superior and Commonwealth courts), not simply Allegheny County.

While I have no objection to the individual ratings in the ad, your readers should be aware that the committee rates only those candidates who live in Allegheny County or have their principal place of business here. Candidates from other parts of Pennsylvania are not permitted to obtain a rating, favorable or otherwise, from this committee. However, the ad gives the impression that the committee evaluated the entire field for those statewide races when they have not.

Thus, the ad should not be interpreted as a relative comparison between the local judges listed in it and those judges from other parts of the state who were not permitted to be evaluated by the committee. To view a bar association rating of all candidates, your readers may visit the Pennsylvania Bar Association's Web site at pavotesmart.com.

JOHN P. GISMONDI
Wilkins
The writer is a lawyer.

Deserves support

This follows Barbara Behrend Ernsberger's Oct. 28 letter ("I Have the Experience to Serve on This Court").

I always read the Post-Gazette's recommendations before an election.

Recently I was shocked at your dismissing Barbara Behrend Ernsberger, who is a candidate for Commonwealth Court. In a brief sentence you stated that she was unqualified, based on a committee's evaluation. As pointed out in her letter, Ms. Ernsberger is very well qualified to be a Commonwealth Court judge. I suggest that you review her experience and record.

LEONARD KISSLINGER
Shadyside

For the people

I am very disturbed with your comments in the editorial endorsing candidates for Commonwealth Court ("Split Ticket," Oct. 22).

Barbara Behrend Ernsberger, Democratic candidate for Commonwealth Court, is dedicated to supporting women's rights and civil rights. Her defense of voting rights is outstanding. Barbara represents the values of many Pittsburghers. We want judges who make fair and just decisions and who treat all plaintiffs and defendants equally under the law. The Democratic people registered their support of Barbara by ensuring she had the most votes in the primary. The people are families. Family law is critical in this day and age when impersonal corporations are given the same status as human beings.

Please consider that your readers are people, not corporations.

PAMELA MACKLIN
Wilkinsburg

Miraculous election

The media say the mayor's race is over. Franco Dok Harris doesn't stand a chance. And Pittsburgh Democrats just aren't tough enough to challenge the Ravenstahl-Zober machine. But the national media said that about another Franco Harris and group of Pittsburghers some 30 years ago -- and out of nowhere, they snatched victory from the jaws of defeat.

What gives me such hope? Nobody can predict what a voter will do when voting by secret ballot. Dok Harris and his family have played an important role in helping to elect progressive candidates, including in the previously right-wing suburbs of Allegheny County. They are, like many voters in the city, "small-d" democrats who see fair and open elections as the best way to advance the future of our party, county and country.

So please, tell your neighbors that they too can be part of this "miraculous election." (See www.MiraculousElection.com.) All they have to do is pull the lever for a gifted young man who comes from a family we have all come to trust. That's right, it's time. "Give the ball to Dok."

STEPHANIE DANGEL
Sewickley Heights
The writer is with Citizens for Political Responsibility in the Greater Pittsburgh Region.

McCarthy for court

As a regular reader of the Post-Gazette, I was extremely disappointed in your choices for Pennsylvania Superior Court ("Superior Picks," Oct. 26). We have in Western Pennsylvania the one candidate whose years of experience with the appellate system make him extremely qualified to be a Superior Court judge -- Kevin McCarthy.

Following graduation from law school, Kevin worked for two years as a law clerk for a Superior Court judge. Furthermore, for the past 19 years he has worked in the appellate division of the Allegheny County district attorney's office. Kevin has made appellate law the focus of his entire career.

I have known Kevin for more than 10 years and find him to be extremely intelligent and hard-working as well as a personable and dedicated public servant. I would encourage everyone to get out next Tuesday and vote for Kevin Francis McCarthy for Superior Court of Pennsylvania.

TONI YATES
Ford City

Justice for women

We read your Oct. 25 editorial endorsing Joan Orie Melvin for Supreme Court. You state that she and Jack Panella are equally qualified. Then you endorse Judge Melvin because she "would strike a small but important blow for gender balance." A good thought, but it doesn't do women any good to put women on the bench who would vote against their rights.

Despite Ms. Orie's gender, Judge Jack Panella is the better qualified and better candidate for women and families. Based on our interview, we believe he is in full support of NOW's positions including reproductive rights, economic equality for women, civil rights for all, constitutional equality for women, affirmative action and the elimination of violence against women. He will be a justice who serves all women and Pennsylvanians with fairness and integrity. Ms. Orie's record doesn't show this support for women's rights and concerns.

That is why we chose the man over the woman. Gender is important but shouldn't be the only reason for an endorsement. Vote for Jack Panella; he is the candidate for equality.

JOANNE TOSTI-VASEY
Chair, Pennsylvania NOW PAC
Bellefonte, Pa.

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