Maria! ... I've Just Met a Girl Named Maria!

You might think Maria Dantos, Lehigh County's First Assistant District Attorney, is some firebrand too biased to be a good judge. You'd think wrong. You see, Maria is also a former public defender who claims, "The most rewarding part of this job has been the service to people who needed me." She'll now have that opportunity as a Lehigh County judge.

Out of eight candidates squabbling over three open spots, Maria was lead vote getter on both Democratic (9,289 votes) and Republican (10,196 votes) ballots. This is the first time in decades that a cross-filed Republican judicial candidate pulled off being Top Dog on both ballots.

Although Maria was an unstoppable candidate with a great work ethic, campaign manager Daphne Uliana should be credited for an outstanding job of coordinating message and grassroots activity for the campaign.

Daphne, who's married to lobbyist Joe Uliana, has mostly stayed in her husband's shadow. But she's starting to branch out into campaign consulting. If she wants to be, she’ll become a major player in Lehigh Valley campaigns.