Why Centre County’s judge race is historic, and what the candidates would bring to the bench

Centre County voters have an opportunity to author some measure of history as they take the first step toward electing the county’s newest judge.

Gopal Balachandran said he would be the first Indian American elected to any judicial post in Pennsylvania if he wins a spot on the Centre County Court of Common Pleas. The claim is difficult to verify — the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts doesn’t collect demographic data — but it has not been challenged. He would be the first ethnic minority to be a judge in the county’s highest court.

Julia Rater would become the third woman in Centre County history to serve on the bench.

Each are vying to fill the spot vacated by Senior Judge Pamela Ruest. She retired as Centre County’s top judge in December but continues to hear a limited number of cases each month. Other senior judges have also presided over cases to manage the caseload.

The winner would be elected to a 10-year term and join Centre County’s three other judges — President Judge Jonathan Grine and judges Katherine Oliver and Brian Marshall. The position has a 2023 salary of $213,422.

Balachandran and Rater are registered Democrats; each registered as a candidate in the Democratic and Republican primary elections, as is typical in judicial elections. One or both could advance to the general election in November.

Neither the Centre County Democratic Committee nor the Centre County Republican Committee endorsed a specific candidate.

Balachandran is endorsed by VoteProChoice, Indian American Impact, Central Pennsylvania United and Asian Pacific Islander Political Alliance. Rater is endorsed by the Fraternal Order of Police Bald Eagle Lodge 51.

Judges are some of the most powerful elected officials in Centre County. Their bailiwick includes everything from criminal cases to civil litigation to custody to divorce to adoptions and more. They can even solemnize weddings.

They do not set — but have the power to modify — bail.

‘Challenging, serious position’

Balachandran, 48, of State College, has anchored his campaign to his background in criminal law. He was a public defender for more than a decade in Massachusetts, New York and Maryland.

He’s tried cases ranging from drug possession to first-degree murder and has not had a paying client since 2006. He is one of three attorneys in Centre County that’s certified to represent someone if they were facing the death penalty.

Balachandran said he plans to serve the entire term if elected.

“I would think that that’s a commitment that I have made to the voters of Centre County. There’s no way I would not serve it out,” Balachandran said. “I do think of a job like this as public service. It is a challenging, serious position and I take it that way.”

Balachandran leads the Criminal Appellate and Post-Conviction Services Clinic at Penn State Law and is the co-founder of the Centre County Pardon Project. Balachandran is also a member of State College Borough Council; he’s served two years of his four-year term.

While it’s the second time Balachandran has run for office, it’s his first countywide campaign. He was the top vote-getter among the four candidates for the council in 2021.

Balachandran said he supports Centre County’s treatment courts and has expressed an interest in expanding them.

He has a bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina, a master’s from the University of Chicago and a law degree from George Washington University. He is a husband and a father of two, 11 and 9.

“I promised them that my dad jokes weren’t going to end while I was running and they’re not going to end if I become judge,” Balachandran said. “That was one of my promises to them.”

Rater has seized on Balachandran’s lack of experience in the Centre County Courthouse. Balachandran, she’s said, has never represented someone in a Centre County courtroom.

He has pushed back, saying he’s been involved with or has overseen legal filings in Centre County cases.

Centre County Chief Public Defender Dave Crowley said Balachandran’s work is “exceptional” and “very helpful.”

“Just because they’re not physically in the courtroom of the Court of Common Pleas doesn’t mean that their contribution to indigent defense is devalued,” Crowley said. “They do important appellate work, consulting and actually filing briefs on occasion.”

‘Not using this as a steppingstone’

Rater, 52, of Patton Township, has touted her nearly three decades of legal experience in Centre County. She has focused on family law for much of the past 20 years.

Rater said she’s appeared in a Centre County courtroom more than 1,100 times and has represented people in cases that reached all three of the state’s appellate courts. She also plans to serve the entire term if elected.

“I am not a politician. This is the only time I hope to ever run for anything. I am not using this as a steppingstone to move into any other position,” Rater said. “I have no desire to be a Superior Court, Commonwealth Court or Supreme Court judge. I have no desire to do anything else until I retire. I will absolutely fill out my entire 10-year term.”

Rater has been a member of the Centre County Bar Association for 21 years, which includes 15 years of service on the board of governors.

She’s served on the boards of Strawberry Fields, Tides and Bellefonte EMS. Rater also served as an advisory member on a member that helped form the Children’s Advocacy Center of Centre County.

It’s the first time she has run for office.

If elected, she would follow in the footsteps of the two women elected to the bench before her. Ruest and Oliver were also attorneys at McQuaide Blasko before they were elected.

Rater, like her opponent, threw her support behind Centre County’s treatment courts and expressed an interest in expanding them.

She has a bachelor’s degree in political science from Saint Vincent College and a law degree from what is now known as Penn State Dickinson Law. She is a wife and mother of three, 24, 22 and 17.

“I’ve never really thought about it in terms of being a woman and bringing a woman to power instead of a man. While I do think that our community would benefit from the diversity of having the mixed bench of female and male judges, because I’m a female is not why I’m running. I happen to be a female,” Rater said. “With my daughters, we’ve just raised them to think that they can be anything and anybody that they want to be, not that they have to prove something because they’re a woman or they have to get ahead of a man.”

McQuaide Blasko attorney Steven Hurvitz described Rater as “smart, levelheaded and trustworthy” in a statement shared as part of her campaign announcement.

“She treats her clients with respect and dignity,” Hurvitz said. “I have been honored to have been a partner of Julia’s at McQuaide Blasko since 2010 and believe would make an excellent judge.”

Countdown to primary election day

The months leading up to the May 16 primary election have been accompanied by the usual back-and-forth between candidates. Supporters of both have exchanged jabs in letters to the editor, questioning everything from experience to political party values.

Balachandran has criticized Rater and her supporters for their appearance at two events during the campaign.

He said his campaign was denied the opportunity in February to collect petition signatures at a Republican event, while Rater’s supporters were admitted.

Balachandran also found fault with Rater attending a Lincoln Day Dinner in February that featured Republican and former U.S. Senate candidate Kathy Barnette. Balachandran said he attended a Democratic Party event the same day in Philipsburg.

“I did not attend the Lincoln Day Dinner for any purpose other than the fact that I was cross-filing, just as Mr. Balachandran was. I was not there as anybody promoted as part of the event,” Rater said during an April forum carried about the League of Women Voters’. “It’s the only time that I’ve ever attended a Lincoln Day Dinner and the only time that I will ever attend a Lincoln Day Dinner because I am a Democrat.”

The last day to request a mail-in or absentee ballot for the primary election is May 9. Polls are open 7 a.m.-8 p.m. May 16 for in-person voting.