AMANDA GREEN-HAWKINS
by Christian Morrow, Courier Staff Writer
Amanda Green-Hawkins, former Allegheny County Councilwoman and longtime counsel for the United Steel Workers, was the top vote-getter in last week’s Democratic primary battle for state Superior Court, besting Philadelphia Common Pleas Judge Daniel McCaffery by more than 70,000 votes.
Green-Hawkins amassed 475,630 votes, while McCaffery tallied 403,310. Beth Tarasi was third among the Democratic candidates with 373,096 votes.
Both will face off against the two Republican winners, Chester County Deputy DA Megan McCarthy King and Cumberland County Common Pleas Judge Christylee Peck, for the two vacancies on the 15-seat court in November.
Because the state Supreme Court only agrees to hear certain appeals, usually to resolve a constitutional question, Superior Court is often the highest appellate court for civil and criminal cases. Judges serve 10-year terms and run for re-election in yes-or-no retention races. Their annual salary is $194,422.
Both Green-Hawkins and McCaffery enjoy a substantial advantage in registered voters, and their primary vote totals exceeded King’s by 100,000 and 30,000 votes, respectively. They also hail from the two largest population centers in the commonwealth, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia.
Of the four finalists, only McCaffery earned the Pennsylvania Bar Association’s “highly recommended” evaluation. King and Peck were “recommended.” Green-Hawkins was “not recommended at this time.”
Green-Hawkins, who has worked as an attorney for the USW since moving to Pittsburgh in 2002, has an extensive and successful record as a labor and civil rights attorney, arguing and winning cases from California to St. Croix. Originally from Jersey City, New Jersey, she is an alumnus of Duke University and Northeastern University School of Law.
She served as the District 13 representative on county council from 2008 to 2014. She is a member of the state’s electoral college and a Democratic Party superdelegate.
In 2013 she successfully negotiated a settlement between the Rivers Casino and members of the Ruff Ryders, a Black motorcycle club, that had a contracted party at the casino shut down for apparently discriminatory reasons. The casino instituted new training and protocols as a result.
Green-Hawkins also serves on the boards of the Port Authority of Allegheny County, the Pittsburgh Zoo, and Pittsburgh United. She is also an advisory committee member to New Voices Pittsburgh and is a former New Pittsburgh Courier Fab 40 under 40 honoree.
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