Pennsylvania
Pa. election 2025: What to know about the candidates for Superior Court

What questions do you have about the 2025 elections? What major issues do you want candidates to address? Let us know.
In Pennsylvania’s 2025 general election, voters will determine who joins one of the commonwealth’s most powerful courts: the Superior Court, which handles thousands of criminal, civil and family appeals cases each year and is often the final word in justice for many residents across the commonwealth. The court’s decisions can shape everything from parental custody arrangements to criminal sentencing and consumer protections to business issues.
Three candidates — Democrat Judge Brandon Neuman, Republican Maria Battista and Daniel Wassmer of the Liberal Party — are vying for an open seat. Meanwhile, Democratic Judge Alice Beck DuBow is seeking a new 10-year term in a separate retention vote.
The Superior Court is one of two intermediate appellate courts in Pennsylvania, which review decisions from the state’s 67 county courts. The Superior Court has the final say on around 97% of its decisions which are not successfully appealed to the state Supreme Court.
“Do you want your communities to be safe? All criminal matters if appealed … go to the Superior Court. I ask people, ‘Do you care about your families, your children, your grandchildren?’ All matters related to families and children go to the Superior Court,” Maria Battista, the Republican nominee, told PCNTV last month. “Do you care about your property rights? Property issues go to the Superior Court.”
Here’s who is running:
Judge Brandon Neuman
Judge Brandon Neuman ran uncontested in the Democratic primary. He currently serves on the County Court of Common Pleas in Washington County, where he is a lifelong resident. He graduated from the University of Richmond and Duquesne University Kline School of Law, and practiced trial law before being elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in 2017, where he served four terms. He ran for lieutenant governor but lost in the primary.
He says his time as a lawmaker shaped how he views the role of the appellate bench.
“You learn about how the law is created and then, as a judge, you understand that we are not lawmakers,” he said in an interview with PCNTV. “You have to respect and appreciate how hard it is to make a law and then take a step back as a judge and say we have to follow the law and the constitution. That is our job.”
His legislative work included authoring the Debbie Smith Act, which was aimed at ending Pennsylvania’s backlog of untested rape kits.
In a notable 2024 ruling, Neuman ordered Washington County to notify voters if their mail ballots contained errors that could prevent them from being counted, a decision that was upheld by successive higher courts.
He said he sees the judiciary’s biggest challenge as “rebuilding public trust” in an era of widespread skepticism toward government institutions.
“Right now, the courts generally have the lowest approval rating that they’ve had probably in modern history,” he said. “You don’t come to court voluntarily. It’s not something that you enjoy. And so really just making sure … that this process is going to be fair, it’s going to be impartial. I’m going to listen to you and I’m going to follow the law.”
The Pennsylvania Bar Association’s Judicial Evaluation Commission rated Neuman “Highly Recommended,” citing his judicial record and demeanor. He has received endorsements from several labor unions, including the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 13, the Pennsylvania State Education Association, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO. He is also endorsed by the Fraternal Order of Police Pennsylvania State Lodge, Pennsylvania State Troopers Association and Pennsylvania Sheriffs’ Association.

Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania State Police resume Operation Safe Stop initiative

Police are on the lookout for drivers who are breaking the law when it comes to driving around school buses as part of the ongoing Operation Safe Stop initiative.
The premise behind Operation Safe Stop is to get motorists to pay more attention to school buses when they’re operating motor vehicles around them, as authorities have noted an increase in incidents and close calls between school buses and other vehicles.
State police say those who violate these rules often have varying reasons for doing it, but none of them are good excuses.
“Every morning, we all know there are school buses on the road,” said Trooper Kalee Barnhart with the Pennsylvania State Police.
Every year, students are killed or injured getting on or off the bus. The most recent numbers tell a sad tale.
According to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, about 17,000 children end up in the emergency room annually after school bus-related incidents, with 19 school-age students getting killed as riders and pedestrians.
“It does get reported frequently,” said David Schreiber, the transportation supervisor at the Bentworth School District.
“Troopers and local police will be working with school bus drivers and school officials to identify high-violation areas and increase patrols where violations are most common,” Trooper Barnhart added.
State police say what’s most perplexing is the fact that the rules regarding how drivers should deal with school buses are pretty simple.
“When the red lights are flashing, and the stop arm is extended, you must stop, whether you are approaching from behind or coming from the opposite direction,” Trooper Barnhart said.
Dangerous driving around school buses isn’t new, but law enforcement says it’s happening more, likely for several reasons.
“Distracted driving plays a huge role,” Trooper Barnhart added. “Additionally, everyone is in a hurry.”
For drivers who don’t follow the rules, there are steep penalties they could face for these infractions, including a $250 fine, five points added to the driver’s license, and a 60-day license suspension, all for the first offense.
Pennsylvania
Tony Danza brings ‘Standards and Stories’ show to Pottstown, Pa. and Atlantic City, N.J.

POTTSTOWN, Pa. (WPVI) — You may know Tony Danza from TV and the big screen, but this weekend, he’s taking the stage for two shows in the Philadelphia area to prove he’s a jack of all trades.
Danza is bringing his show “Standards and Stories” to Pottstown.
He says there will be songs and stories, but also dancing, ukelele playing and a lot of laughs.
“It’s like the Italian fantasy, you know, a microphone, a tuxedo and a stool,” Danza says. “I am living the dream.”
Danza is coming to town for not one, but two performances.
“I’m the host in my show,” he laughs. “And I’m all the other acts.”
He sings the standards, like Frank Sinatra.
“He’s the greatest,” he says. “I’m sorry, I’m Italian. I know I’m biased.”
He also tap dances in this show and plays the ukelele.
“I try to make it a show experience,” he says.
Danza is no stranger to the Philadelphia area.
“I have to say hello to my school, Northeast High,” he says. “Go Vikings! It was one of the craziest things I’ve ever done, and one of the best things I’ve ever done, being a teacher.”
Danza also runs a non-profit called The Stars of Tomorrow Project.
“It’s teen acting,” he says. “Acting, voice, movement and wellness. Because when you teach a kid how to act, you teach a kid how to act.”
This weekend, you’ll see Danza here, on stage.
“I’ll be in the Italian uniform,” he says. “A tuxedo.”
Tony Danza has two upcoming shows in the area.
First, he’s at the Sunny Brook Ballroom in Pottstown on October 25th. Then, he will be at the Tropicana Casino in Atlantic City on November 13th.
For tickets and more information, visit: https://souljoels.com/shop/tickets/tonydanza/
Copyright © 2025 WPVI-TV. All Rights Reserved.
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania man allegedly shot and killed mother’s romantic fling mid-hookup in victim’s truck

A Pennsylvania son tired of his mom’s late-night rendezvous called the cops on himself and allegedly admitted to killing his mother’s romantic partner while the couple was “hooking up” in the victim’s truck on Saturday.
Dylan Lang, 24, was charged with homicide after he snapped when he found his mother fooling around with her lover, 55-year-old Robert Hagen Jr., and shot him in their driveway, police said.
Lang claimed his mother and Hagen were having sexual relations for several days. He told cops he finally spun “out of control” after the pair went out drinking on Friday evening and came back to continue their romp sesh outside the family home early in the morning, according to authorities.
Lang allegedly stormed outside with a 9mm handgun when he noticed the pair “hooking up” in Hagen’s truck, which was parked in the driveway of the family’s Jackson Township home — which he shares with his mother, her ex-fiancé, and two other relatives, police told Fox 5.
The fired-up son allegedly tried to point the firearm through the driver side window, but it wasn’t opened far enough. So, he shattered the rear window and allegedly fired two shots at Hagen through the back of the seat.
Hagen was fatally struck in the upper torso while attempting to back his truck out of the driveway. He lost control and the truck wound up rolling right into the front yard, police said.
All the while, Lang’s shaken mother, who was still inside the vehicle with Hagen, was reportedly screaming “You shot him!” at her son.
Lang, too, reportedly phoned 911 and told dispatchers, “I just shot someone in my driveway. I f–ked up.”
When police arrived at the grisly scene shortly before 4 a.m., they found Hagen inside the truck bloodied “with his pants around his ankles,” the outlet reported.
Lang is being held without bail at the Cambria County Prison on charges for criminal homicide, aggravated assault and reckless endangerment. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Oct. 27.
State police were called to lead an investigation into the shooting.
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