Trying to make history is never easy. But Linda Bobrin is not only used to taking on a challenge but also doing whatever it takes to make it work.
That’s how a woman who grew up in what she admits wasn’t a particularly religious household in Northeast Philadelphia has been able to make her marriage to a cantor last 35 years, thanks to their ability to join forces and compromise.
Considering that, the members at Congregation Brothers of Israel and Shir Ami, both in Newtown, should be well-versed in her efforts to become the first Jewish woman elected to the Bucks County Court of Common Pleas.
She’ll be one of four female Democratic candidates on the Nov. 4 ballot, with four Republicans, two of whom are also women, seeking to join the 15-judge panel. None of the other candidates is Jewish.
Having garnered an 18,000-vote plurality over the Republican field during the May primary, she’s hoping her diversified background gives her an advantage.
“Obviously, I’m a lawyer and I had a solo practice for many years,” said Bobrin, who got her law degree from Widener University after graduating from Beaver College, now Arcadia. “But in 2016, I decided to run for local office, something that had never interested me before. So, I ran for Newtown Township Supervisor and won, which I loved. I’ve really enjoyed doing that job and working with the community. You do the budget for the community. We hired a police chief while I was there and kept the roads in good condition. But you’re also responsible to some degree for what comes into the town in terms of building: business versus private homes. And you’re always listening to the struggle of this community over not having more once they moved in. You’re trying to do the balance to keep your community vibrant.”
After three years on that job, she ran for and was elected Register of Wills and Clerk of Orphan’s Court in 2019, then reelected in 2023.
The decision to run for judge came soon after, which came as a surprise to at least one person.
“I’m a little surprised that she’s doing this because she wasn’t someone who originally wanted the limelight,” said her older brother, Steve Bobrin, a Warrington insurance specialist. “She wants to make a difference. I think you can see that in her position right now in the township as the administrator of wills. I think she’s fair and pretty even-keeled. She’s worked really hard to get here, and I think she’ll be a good judge.”
Her husband agrees.
“I can tell you, having spent more than 36 years with her, you’ll never find a more honest, straightforward human being who has the appropriate value system to be a fair arbiter,” said Neil Schnitzer, the cantor at Congregation Brothers of Israel in Newtown. “When we met, what I found most in common with her was Jewish values. I recognized it in the family.”
That’s one of the things that has sustained them through the years while raising three sons. It also shapes her attitude toward the people she’s been serving.
Among her accomplishments as Register of Wills and Clerk of Orphans Court is establishing the Weddings and Wills for Heroes programs, which offer free weddings to veterans and first responders, as well as enabling them to work with the bar association to provide free wills and powers of attorney.
She also instituted a free Valentine’s Day wedding program for members of the community.
That kind of advocacy and tzedakah are ingrained in her Jewish values.
“Generally, I’m a glass-is-half-full kind of person,” said Bobrin, who feels her many levels of experience make her the right candidate for the job she’s seeking. “How you treat people in the world and what you accept as live and let live is kind of my way of thinking about things, and those are part of my Jewish values. And those values, I think, are beneficial in a judge. You have to treat everybody with respect. That’s how I want to be treated, and I think that’s been partly why I’ve been successful so far in the career I’ve had, especially the more recent political career.”
Yet it concerns her the way judges are perceived these days, especially when they seem to be bowing to political pressure.
“It’s gut-wrenching,” she admitted. “Really upsetting. I mean, there are some very good judges out there doing some very good work. But these judges who are not following the law are betraying their oath to the Constitution and betraying their profession. It’s so disheartening to see that. But I still think there are more good judges than bad ones out there.”
Jon Marks is a Philadelphia-area freelance writer.
