ELECTION CENTRAL: WHO'S RUNNING FOR JUDGE IN 2016

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

BREAKING NEWS ....NEW CANDIDATE FILING TODAY ......

MONA LISA VITO ...........................

More than once we have been referred to as the Mona Lisa Vito of reporters, when it comes to the reporting of judicial elections in Miami-Dade County.  And, following our reporting on the filing of Judge David Young last week, we received several emails requesting the lineup of who's up in 2016 for reelection.

Without further adieu, here is the list of Judges, both Circuit and County Court, whose terms expire in 2016.

CIRCUIT COURT

32 Areces, Barbara

28 Bailey, Jennifer D.

10 Bernstein, Scott M.

34 Freeman, Gill Sherryl

52 Genden, Michael A.

62 Gordo, Monica

41 Hirsch, Milton

76 Eig, Spencer*** 

66 Luck, Robert

30 Rodriguez, Rosa I.

39 Rodriguez-Chomat, Jorge

45 Ruiz-Cohen, Samantha

74 Sarduy, George Alexander

59 Sayfie, Nushin Ghofrany

03 Schlesinger, John C.

12 Soto, Bertila A.

40 Thomas, William L.

20 Thornton, Jr., John W.

COUNTY COURT

11 Gonzalez-Paulson, Michaelle

35 Graham, Wendell Mitchell

23 Kelly, Carroll J.

07 Newman, Edward

15 Rubenstein, Judith

05 Seraphin, Fred

There are 18 Circuit Court Judges whose terms expire at the end of 2016.  At least two of them will have hit mandatory retirement based on their age: Judge Genden and Judge Rodriguez-Chomat.

On Friday, January 16, 2015, former Judge David Young filed to run in Group 39, Rodriguez'-Chomat's group. Coincidentally, on the same day, attorney Oscar Rodriguez-Fonts also filed to run in that group.  You may remember that Rodriguez-Fonts ran unsuccessfully in the most recent election cycle against Judge Martin Zilber.  Zilber beat Rodriguez- Fonts by only 2,316 votes out of nearly 152,000 cast; (50.8%-49.2%).

That begs the question: why didn't one of those two candidates file in Group 52, Genden's seat?  My guess would be that Genden has decided not to complete his term and we can expect that he will resign his seat sometime in the next year or so.

BREAKING .................

In the time it took to author this post, attorney Carol "Jodie" Breece has filed to run for Circuit Court Judge, in Group 52.  I would hope that Ms. Breece had a sit down with Judge Genden before filing to learn whether Genden intends to serve out his term.  If he were to resign early, Governor Scott would appoint the replacement and Breece would be forced to find a new Group if she wants to run in 2016.

You may recall that Ms. Breece filed in 2014 to run for County Court Judge against Incumbent Judge Ana Maria Pando and challenger Diana Gonzalez.  Ultimately, Breece withdrew her candidacy before the qualifying deadline.  She told me back then that she would definitely be running in 2016.  Looks like she kept her word.  Good luck Jodie.

***Judge Spencer Eig needs a new Campaign Treasurer.  Albert Corrada currently holds that honor.  Judge Eig ran unopposed for reelection in 2014 in Group 76.  The Division of Elections though was more concerned that Eig, more than once, filed late Campaign Treasurer's Reports.  On November 19, 2013, Eig was fined $525 for a late filing.  Again, on August 11, 2014, he was fined $400, for another late filing.

Now, if that wasn't poor enough record keeping for Eig and Corrada, for some reason, on August 26, 2014, Eig and Corrada filed papers with the Division of Elections indicating that Eig planned to run for Judge in 2016, again, in Group 76. At least that is what the Division of Elections is currently reporting.  We'll keep you updated on this.  ****We received an email from Mr. Corrada.  He has indicated that the paperwork filed on August 26, 2014 was meant for Judge Eig's reelection campaign in 2020.  Because the Division of Elections has not even opened a web page for that election cycle, they are reporting it as if Judge Eig is running in 2016.****

There are also 6 incumbent judges in County Court whose terms expire in 2016.

Of course, all of this is subject to change; judges getting elevated, retiring, etc.

Qualifying for the election is 15 months away and ends on May 6, 2016.  The election itself is 19 months from now and will take place on Tuesday, August 30, 2016.


CAPTAIN OUT ..................
Captain4Justice@gmail.com