HARRISBURG — Candidates for a pair of open seats on Pennsylvania’s intermediate appellate courts avoided clashes at a campaign forum Thursday and instead portrayed themselves as fair-minded people who would decide cases on the facts and legal precedent.

“I’m a common-sense guy who follows the law and never legislates from the bench,” said Northampton County Judge Emil Giordano, the Republican nominee for Superior Court, at the hourlong event at Widener University Commonwealth Law School in Harrisburg.

His Democratic opponent, Philadelphia Judge Alice Beck Dubow, said her party affiliation reflects her view of society but does not taint her rulings. “As a judge I apply the law, and there is a lot of precedent and I follow the precedent,” she said.

Paul Lalley, a Pittsburgh lawyer who is the GOP nominee for Commonwealth Court, said, “You do take on a different role when you become a judge. Politics is left behind. ... The reason that we have these courts is because people cannot resolve their disputes themselves.”

The candidates agreed on nearly every topic raised by separate panels of reporters and students.

For example, the candidates concurred they keep their views on social issues to themselves to avoid the appearance of bias, and they are generally willing to recuse themselves from cases involving their campaign donors if a party in the case requests it.

“Being a good judge is all about being apolitical,” Giordano said.

Absent from the forum, sponsored by several voter-advocacy groups, was Pittsburgh lawyer Michael Wojcik, the Democratic nominee for Commonwealth Court. Wojcik said Wednesday a scheduling conflict prevented him from attending.

Dubow, who’s been on the Philadelphia bench since 2007, leads in fundraising among the candidates for the two mid-level appellate courts, taking in more than $525,000 through mid-September, according to campaign finance reports.