THE CAPTAIN'S MIAMI-DADE COUNTY ELECTION BIOS

JULIE KAY of the Daily Business Review writes a great article about Federal PD Orlando De Campo trapped in Lebanon because of the war. De Campo was in Lebanon working on the defense in the Padilla case when a war inconveniently broke out and interrupted his research.

Unfortunately for De Campo, the Federal Courts have already ruled that a war is no reason to grant a defense continuance.



THE FOLLOWING POST WAS WRITTEN ENTIRELY BY OUR CAPTAIN. GREAT WORK.

Now that the qualifying period is over, it’s time for the campaigning to begin. Over the next six weeks, the decisions we make will shape the future of our County and Circuit Court bench. One vote CAN make a difference. Because the candidates are so limited in their ability to sell themselves, it is up to us to speak for them. If we feel that one candidate is clearly more qualified than another, they we owe it to ourselves and our clients, to speak to as many voters as we can and let them know what we know.

So, having said that, here are the contests (the year following the name is that listed with the Florida Bar):

COUNTY COURT

GROUP 1

Patricia Marino-Pedraza, 1990; was listed as Patricia Marino with the Florida Bar until this week when she added the Pedraza name; this is her first campaign.

Shirlyon J. McWhorter, 1991; Incumbent, appointed by Gov. Bush to replace Judge Adderly; this is her first campaign.

GROUP 4

Robin Faber, 1983; this is his first campaign.

Ivan Hernandez, 1983; Incumbent, elected in 2000 when he defeated incumbent Judge Reginald Richardson (in a runoff) and Jim Best.

GROUP 9

Victoria del Pino, 2000; this is her first campaign.

Joel S. Jacobi, 1997; this is his first campaign for Judge; he has been a Councilman in the City of Bal Harbour for the last four years.

GROUP 10

Sari Teichman Addicott, 1978; she is listed with the Florida Bar as Sari Teichman; this is her first campaign.

Ana Maria Pando, 1988; Incumbent, elected in 2000 when she defeated David Alschuler.

GROUP 11

Karen Mills Francis, 1989; Incumbent, elected in 2000 when she defeated incumbent Judge Harvey Goldstein.

Stephen Millan, 1991; this is his first campaign.

GROUP 12

Juan F. Gonzalez, 1982; this is his first campaign.

Steve Leifman, 1987; Incumbent, elected in 2000 without opposition. A veteran of many elections including two tries for the State House, he was appointed a County Court Judge in 1995; ran as the incumbent in 1996 and lost to Judge Myriam Lehr; he was again appointed by Gov. Chiles in 1997.

GROUP 14

Gloria Gonzalez-Meyer, 1994; she is listed with the Florida Bar as Gloria Gonzalez; this is her first campaign.

Michael Samuels, 1972; Incumbent, elected in 1996 when he defeated incumbent Judge Kevin Emas; re-elected in 2000 without opposition.

GROUP 27

Migna Sanchez-Llorens, 1994; this is her first campaign.

Sheldon “Shelly” Schwartz, 1969; Incumbent, elected in 1996 when he defeated Larry King; re-elected in 2000 without opposition.

GROUP 39

George A. Alvarez, 1994; this is his first campaign.

Bronwyn Catherine Miller, 1997; Incumbent, appointed by Gov. Bush in 2005 to replace Judge Richard Suarez; this is her first campaign.

GROUP 40

Don S. Cohn, 1975; lost a Circuit Court race in 2004 to Judge William Thomas.

Bonnie Lano Rippingille, 1976; Incumbent, defeated Judd Aronowitz in 1996; re-elected in 2000 without opposition.

GROUP 43

Cecilia Armenteros-Chavez, 1994; she is listed with the Florida Bar as Cecilia Armenteros; this is her first campaign.

Michael Aaron Bienstock, 1973; this is his first campaign.

Jose L. Fernandez, 1989; this is his first campaign.

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CIRCUIT COURT

GROUP 25

Dennis Murphy, 1983; Incumbent, in 2000 defeated three other candidates. In that election, in the primary, Gina Mendez garnered the most votes (40%) and Murphy took 29% of the vote, while Martin Zilber (25%) and Peter Sylvester Adrien (6%) were eliminated. In the runoff, Murphy squeaked by Mendez 209,000 to 197,000; also in 1996 Murphy lost a three-way County Court race coming in third to Judge Andrew Hague and Elio Vazquez.

Josie Perez Velis, 1988; lost to Judge William Thomas in 2004, she did not make the runoff in that race.

GROUP 42

Gina Mendez, 1994; lost to Judge Murphy in 2000 (see above).

Lawrence Schwartz, 1978; Incumbent, was unopposed in 2000; was a County Court Judge from 1990-1996 and has been a Circuit Court Judge since 1997.

GROUP 78

Rima Catherine Bardawil, 1997; this is her first campaign.

Valerie Schurr Manno, 1993; she is listed with the Florida Bar as Valerie Manno; lost in 2004 to Judge Judith Rubenstein.

Jose Ramon Sanchez-Gronlier, 1991; this is his first campaign.

GROUP 79

Marie Abigail Davidson, 1985; this is her first campaign.

Antonio "Tony" Marin, 1984; this is his first campaign.

GROUP 80

Mario Garcia Jr., 2000; this is his first campaign.

Marisa Tinkler Mendez, 1986; this is her first campaign.

Catherine "Cathy" Parks, 1984; lost in a runoff to Judge William Thomas in 2004.



See you in court pondering the ballot.