Looking back, Superior Court candidate Megan Sullivan believes her upbringing led to her professional success.
“My growing up here served me well,” she said.
Sullivan, 50, was raised in Juniata. She attended Holy Innocents Elementary School and Nazareth Academy High School (class of 1989). At Nazareth, she was involved in soccer, theater and music.
Today, she is a mother of two living in Paoli.
Her parents, Larry and Kathy, live in Bridesburg, as does her brother, Bryan, a Philadelphia police officer. Larry Sullivan is a well-known soccer coach, with stops at Villanova and Father Judge, among other places.
On Tuesday, Sullivan will be on the ballot as the Republican candidate for Superior Court. Her opponent is Democrat Timika Lane, a Philadelphia Common Pleas Court judge. She describes Lane as a nice person. They’ve seen each other at a forum in Crawford County and at parades, and have spoken to each other about their children.
Sullivan hasn’t done any polling, but expects a close race, describing Pennsylvania as a “purple” state.
Sullivan earned a degree from St. Joseph’s University before receiving her law degree from Temple. She worked as a paralegal in the Philadelphia district attorney’s office, under Lynne Abraham, from 1995-99. Later, she was an assistant district attorney in Chester County for a decade. She worked as assistant general counsel for West Chester University and as a deputy state attorney general, in addition to experience in private practice.
“I’ve had a little bit of everything, experience-wise,” she said during an interview last week at the Dunkin’ Donuts in the Parkwood Shopping Center. “I’ve loved every aspect of it. My career has been so diverse.”
Earlier this year, she presented those credentials to state GOP committee members, earning the party endorsement.
“Qualifications are very important to Republican grassroots,” she said.
Sullivan is making her first bid for office. Her ex-husband, Warren Kampf, is a former state representative. He is supporting her campaign. They have two children, Drew, a 16-year-old junior at St. Joseph’s Prep, and Julia, an eighth-grader.
In the campaign, Sullivan has been endorsed by Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 5, the Pennsylvania State Troopers Association, the Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation and the state FOP. She’s visited almost all of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties, including recent stops at FOP Lodge 5 and in front of 66th Ward Republicans.