Candidate for
Judge; Court of Common Pleas; District 32

• Mary Alice Brennan brings a unique and valuable perspective to the citizens of Delaware County because she has served in all three branches of local government: legislative, executive and judicial.
• Mary Alice Brenna was appointed to County Council in 2002 and was elected in November, 2003 to a four-year term. As a Council member, she manages a $304 million budget and was instrumental in holding the line on taxes for the past four consecutive years. Council also oversees the court budget of $48 million, giving Brennan expertise in the fiscal responsibilities of the courts.
• Among her accomplishments on Council, she oversaw the $8 million purchase of the electronic voting machines to comply with the U.S. Help America Vote Act. She designed and was directly involved in an extensive training program to familiarize voters with the new electronic machines, and the successful transition served as a model for other counties and was cited as one of the leading voter education programs in the state.
• As County Council's point person for the courts, she was involved in the 2003 implementation of the Justice Network (J-Net), a secure access network that provides prosecutors and municipal law enforcement with critical criminal justice information. This results in safer communities.
• Brennan has worked with officials at all levels, from municipal to state and federal, in addressing county issues that include a strong and continuing challenge to the Federal Aviation Administration's effort to allow planes to fly at low altitudes over Delaware County communities which would pose a health and environmental risk; state approval and the establishment of a racetrack and casino in Chester; and planning and securing funding to revitalize first-generation communities in the eastern part of the county and preserve Open Space in the western portion.
• Her areas of responsibility on County Council include Voter Registration, Bureau of Elections, Veterans Affairs, the County Office of Services for the Aging (COSA), Parks and Recreation, Human Services, the Women's Commission, the Hero Scholarship Fund (provides scholarships to the children of fallen Police, Fire and EMT), and the Community Action Agency (Delaware County's anti-poverty agency). She also serves on the Delaware County Employees Retirement Board.
• Before serving on County Council, she served as a District Justice in Upper Darby Township from 1994-2002, presiding over criminal and civil cases at the District Court level. This court is one of the busiest and most culturally diverse courts in the county.
• In 2001, Ms. Brennan was appointed by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to serve on the Intergovernmental Task Force to study the District Justice system. In 2002, she was appointed by Chief Justice Stephen A. Zappalla to serve on the District Justice Task Force Ad-Hoc Committee. She was one of five members chosen statewide to serve for the purpose of proposing implementation strategies to the improved operation of the District Justice courts. She also presided over the first cases brought under the Delaware County Neighborhood Crimes Task Force. This was an initiative to combat "quality of life" crimes in local neighborhoods.
• Ms. Brennan also serves as Special Council for Student Services for the Upper Darby School District. She advises and represents the District in matters of Expulsion, Residency, Truancy, nuisance courts and Homeless issues. She has established the leading program for the recovery of tuition funds due the tazpayer from illegal residents.
• She also represents the Borough of Norwood as Solicitor.
• Ms. Brennan served in the Public Defender's Office from 1987-1993 and is the only candidate who has vast experience in all seats an attorney occupies in the courtroom: Judge, Prosecutor and Defender.
• Ms. Brennan was elected to the Upper Darby Board of School Directors, serving from 1989-1993, and served on the Widener University School of Law Alumni Board and the Center for Resolutions Board. She was named Honorary Commander for the Delaware Air National Guard 166 Airlift Wing for 2005-2006.
• Ms. Brennan is a life-long resident of Delaware County. She is a graduate of Interboro High School, Brigham Young University and the Widener University School of Law. She lives in the Drexel Hill section of Upper Darby Township with her husband, Upper Darby Police Officer John Brennan.