Monday, August 15, 2022

COUNTY COURT RACES - KOLOKOFF V. DE LA ROSA & JANOWITZ V. PRIOVOLOS .......

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

EARLY VOTING CONTINUES ... ELECTION DAY IS AUGUST 23

County Court Group 19

Judge Jeffrey Kolokoff vs. Lissette De La Rosa

Jeffrey M. Kolokoff (I)

He has been a member of The Florida Bar for 15 years. He was appointed to the bench by Gov. DeSantis in April of 2020 and this is his first election. Prior to taking the bench he was an ASA for more than six years in Miami-Dade County and he then worked for the law firm of Beighley, Myrick. His campaign web site can be found here.

Judge Kolokoff has a net worth of $2,182,366.  His annual salary as a County Court Judge is $156,377. He has raised $85,210 from a total of 171 contributors. He has loaned his campaign a total of $325,000. His campaign has spent $164,948 to date.

Lissette De La Rosa 

She has been a member of The Florida Bar for 20 years. According to her campaign web site, she has litigated insurance cases for both the defense and the plaintiff during her career. She appears to have previously worked in the area of Estates and Trusts in the Tampa area. She is currently employed by a Clearwater property insurance company, Heritage Property & Casualty, in their Sunrise office. Her campaign web site can be found here.

Attorney De La Rosa has a net worth of $543,576. Her annual salary with Heritage Py. & Casualty is $165,979. She has raised $86,135 from a total of 124 contributors.  She has not loaned her campaign any money. Her campaign has Expenditures in the amount of $36,174.

County Court Group 42

Judge Scott Janowitz vs. Alicia Garcia Priovolos

Scott Janowitz (I)

He has been a member of The Florida Bar for 16 years. He was appointed to the bench by Gov. DeSantis in April of 2020 and this is his first election. Prior to taking the bench he was an ASA in Broward County and he then worked for a few law firms including the law firm of Geyer, Fuxa. He finally opened his own law firm and he focused his practice on insurance litigation and criminal defense. His campaign web site can be found here.

Judge Janowitz has a net worth of $425,000. His annual salary as a County Court Judge is $156,377. He has raised $53,638 from a total of 138 contributors. He has loaned his campaign a total of $22,000. His campaign has spent $62,645 to date.

Alicia Garcia Priovolos

She has been a member of The Florida Bar for 16 years, all of that time as an ASA in Miami-Dade County. She prosecuted cases involving murder, sexual assault, armed robbery, kidnapping, organized crime, and human trafficking. She was named Director of the Human Trafficking Unit at the State Attorney's Office. She is married to former ASA and current criminal defense attorney John Priovolos. Her campaign web site can be found here.

Attorney Priovolos has a net worth of $1,816,344. Her annual salary as an ASA is $94,890. She has raised $136,871 from a total of 277 contributors.  She has loaned her campaign $50,000. Campaign expenditures to date total $146,825.

THE BAR POLLS .....

The Cuban American Bar Association (CABA) asked their members to vote whether the candidates were Exceptionally Qualified, Satisfactory, or Unsatisfactory.  Judge Kolokoff’s scores were 35%, 31%, and 4% while his opponent attorney De La Rosa scored out at 5%, 20%, and 27%.  Judge Janowitz' scores were 44%, 24%, and 6%. His opponent, attorney Priovolos scored 31%, 26%, and 19%.

The Miami-Dade Bar (MDB) polls asked their voters to weigh in on which candidate was the Most Qualified. Judge Kolokoff blew away his opponent 74% to 26%. In the second race, it was much closer with Judge Janowitz outscoring Priovolos 57% to 43%.

The Miami Herald Editorial Board weighed in with their recommendations. In Group 19, they stated: “Though he has only been on the bench for a little over two years, we believe Kolokoff’s experience makes him the best qualified in this race. The Herald recommends JEFFREY KOLOKOFF."  

In Group 42, the Herald went in a totally different direction.  The Editorial Board stated: “Janowitz and Garcia Priovolos are both fine choices for county judge. As the incumbent, Janowitz has acquired institutional knowledge, currently presiding over insurance, eviction, small claims and personal debt cases. But Garcia Priovolos’ resume and engagement in the community tip the scale in her favor. County judges aren’t just court officers, but also stakeholders in the community. Since 2018, she says she has given more than 30 presentations to raise awareness about human trafficking to different organizations. “One thing that I have been very active in throughout my entire career is really going out to the community and speaking to people, educating, and that’s the one thing that I would like to continue doing especially as a judge,” Garcia Priovolos told the Herald Editorial Board. The Herald Editorial Board recommends ALICIA GARCIA PRIOVOLOS”.

I will not make any predictions in these two races, but I will say that candidate Alicia Priovolos has a very good chance of winning. A look at the names of her 277 contributors shows a wide cross-section of the legal community has written checks to her campaign. A large amount of well respected criminal defense attorneys are part of that list.  Priovolos has twice as many contributors as the Incumbent Judge Janowitz and she has raised 250% more money than her opponent.

We invite our readers to let us know about their interactions in court before Judge Kolokoff and Judge Janowitz and any cases they may have litigated against challengers Lissette De La Rosa and Alicia Priovolos.


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


26 comments:

  1. I have known the Honorable Scott Janowitz for all sixteen of his years as a licensed attorney. I met him when he was a young prosecutor in Mike Satz's office. Before he became someone I consider a good friend and confidant, he was already an exceptional prosecutor, and one of the most honest, and ethical people I worked with. Through the years, we have become friends. He has not changed. He is still the man and attorney I met that first day. His knowledge of the law has increased considerably, (and that is saying alot because he was always the go to guy in his office for knowledge of the law and legal interpretation). I have worked on cases with Ms. Priovolos throughout her years in Kathy's office, and I find her pleasant, and a very capable lawyer. She will make an excellent judge. But not moreso than Mr. Janowitz. I have seen Scott follow the law and do the right thing countless times, both as a prosecutor, private counsel, and now on the bench. He is by far, the more qualified candidate of the two. I thank you for the opportunity to share my thoughts.

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  2. In Miami-Dade County?

    de la Rosa and Priovolos comfortably win by by two lengths.

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  3. Back in the day Dick Gerstein, along with The Herald could put anyone they wanted on the Bench. Janet Reno had a direct pipeline to Governor Graham and she could mostly get someone on the bench. Not as 100% as Gerstein but close. What I saw was that the Herald along with Gerstein in the 1970s got most anyone on the bench when they endorsed someone.
    In the 1980s I saw things move away from the Herald being able to to absolutely get someone elected -several of their endorsements did not win. But they had the power to knock someone off the bench. The first example that comes to mind was Loree Feiler-Schwartz. They could also stop a challenger from winning by printing a negative article a few days before the election.

    Now I don't see they have any real influence in an election. See eg., The Dava Tunis race last cycle. Tons of negative coverage of her opponent and it did not matter much. Neither did the blog coverage of that race. it is in Miami very simply a name game along with a good ground game. Getting ballots for early voting into supporters hands and getting them to vote that way. I can think of one such county court race last cycle when the early voting returns were released a few minutes after the polls closed had such a big advantage (it was two challengers for an open seat) that what occurred on election day didn't matter.

    So it is what it is. The only thing that I think could move the needle for any of these people on the ballot is if the FBI raided their home seeking national security documents- then they'd get a 20 point boost in the election for sure.

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    1. The Herald Editorial Board has also gotten extremely petty and preachy under its current members.

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  4. I have to say that having interactions with both Judge Janowitz and Alicia Garcia Priovolos, the Herald got it right, as have the MANY other outlets that have endorsed her over the course of this campaign. Also, having followed these races closely and attended several judicial forums, I have to say that Alicia has campaigned with integrity and adherence to all the rules, while Janowitz has made some questionable choices and has said some things that should give all voters pause. That alone should give Alicia the edge over Janowitz, and that’s not even taking into consideration her immense trial experience and knowledge of the law. Alicia has spent her career at the State Attorney’s Office fighting for the people of Miami and she would make a magnificent addition to the bench.

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  5. Hanzy & Coco never endorse anyone, and fully max both sides in contributions in every race. Smart...savy...

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  6. Kolokoff is a good choice. Solid voice of experience, manages his dockets well, and knowledgeable about the law. Respectful of all who appear before him.

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  7. Former Broward SAO is enough for me to be suspect. Not saying that pushes me over the line, but that office is fucked up and I don’t think most Miami practitioners who have to venture north of the border from time to time would view that resume line as a plus.

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  8. Bougie Boyz Hanzy & Coco at it again- tearing up Bal Harbour mall today with a very public lunch and then hitting those credit cards hard at Let's Kick it. Coco looking stylish in a pair of White Missioni Sneaks- list $650. Why did he need THREE pairs? Hanzy looking sharp in a pair of Marni Black Bermuda shorts ($550) and Black Sabot shoes ($575). Looks like he's preparing for some casual dining in the Hamptons later this summer. Black is the new white for Hamptons evening summer wear.

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  9. the Hanzy and Coco stuff should go. Boooooring.

    Get some new material.

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  10. I donated money to many candidates. Only Fred forgot to call or email a thank you note. Memo to Fred, have you forgotten how to say thank you?

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  11. I personally know Alicia. She's a really nice, smart, fair, decent, kind person. I am voting for her.

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  12. The Herald has lost a lot of readership and its recommendations are behind the paywall, so, only subscribers read them. I don't think that "community involvement" should be the determinant factor to endorse a judge. Rather, knowledge of the law and a willingness to follow it without playing politics should be the first quality that they should look for.

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  13. All I know is HANZY is the smartest Judge ever. End of story.

    Coco is cool and lives the life in Malibu with movie starlets ….

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  14. I’ve worked with Janowitz. He knows the right people but has always been clueless about the work. He was what I believe the State calls “a walking rule 3”. I am frankly surprised that the race is so close.

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  15. Hey Coco. The ocean called. Save some shrimp for the rest of us.
    #coco@Nobulastnight trending on twitter

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  16. Word in the street. Disclaimer. These are NOT choices or endorsements.
    Fred Seaphin in trouble. De La Portillo getting traction in the right communities with his repugnant flyer. Judiciary trying to think how to handle this flaming jerk if he wins. Expect a very coooool reception. Worst possible assignment. No one will have his back for coverage and advice.
    AGP really good position vs SJ. Buzz is good for her.
    Just sayin.

    Maria Twyman Tua whatever no traction whatsoever.

    Watson looking good as well.

    From a guy in the street sounding the pavement with an ear to the chatter. Nothing more.

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  17. Fredo de la Tortilla won't sit a day on the bench.

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  18. Why all the mean spirit comments as to COCO? He is a true renaissance man and is funny as hell. Even though HANZY is brutally humble, Coco is not just a sidekick!

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  19. Alicia and John are nice people and she is a very qualified candidate. I don't know Janowitz, and on paper he sounds qualified and decent. But I got to tip the advantage to Team Priovolos - I think she wins this matchup.

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  20. Captain and Rumpole, have you seen the new attack mailer from Renier and Alex Diaz de la Portilla? It features a supposed "press release" from the Fraternal Order of Police Florida State Lodge that was never sent to the press and which the contact person cited in it knows nothing about. How low are they willing to go?

    http://www.politicalcortadito.com/2022/08/13/diaz-de-la-portilla-hit-pieces-haitian-judge/

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  21. Coco is the good cop.
    Hanzy is the bad cop.

    Coco is cool, laid back, suave, sophisticated. A gourmand. Lover of opera and TV wrestling shows. Big fan of Detroit Red Wings hockey, and Toledo Mud Hens AAA baseball. Can often see him late at night chowing down on a media noche and sipping a cafe con leche.

    Hanzy is Bronx in your face toughness.

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  22. Many years ago, before Jeffrey Kolokoff was a judge, I was running in a low turnout election against nearly a dozen candidates just for my spot (there were several positions people were running for). The election was in person and ended at 5 pm. Jeff's wife let me know he could not come because he had been at the jail since the night before to assist someone who had been arrested and he was still there.

    At 4:55 pm I see Jeff running past me and up the stairs to cast the last vote before they shut it down. I won my election by a single vote.

    Anyone else would have driven home to go to sleep. Jeff Kolokoff is an honorable man of his word.

    I have been volunteering for him and I voted for him and I hope everyone else does too.

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  23. Already voted for Jeff. He is a stand up guy and treats everyone with respect. I enjoy practicing in front of him.

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  24. Ask any young female attorney who has practiced before Janowitz and you will get unanimous feedback as to why he should no longer serve on the bench. He’s condescending, rude, and blatantly sexist. So glad someone ran against him. He should’ve never been appointed. Another example of his ineptitude- the scheduling orders for county civil. Those deadlines don’t make any sense. Yes, let’s file summary judgment motions and have them heard months before discovery closes.

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