JUDICIAL ELECTIONS 2026 ..... QUALIFYING WEEK .....

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

ELECTION CENTRAL 2026 ... QUALIFYING WEEK

Qualifying for Circuit and County Court closes at Noon today. We will update this post once all final paperwork is reviewed and confirmed. As of midnight, here is where things stand:

CIRCUIT COURT

First, the contested races:

GROUP 5 (Judge Angelica Zayas retiring)

Alexander Annunziato (In-house counsel, Ascendant Commercial Insurance; attorney for 11 years)

Arthur McNeil (Assistant Public Defender; attorney for 19 years)***

Monica Segura (Senior Managing Associate General Counsel for Universal Property & Casualty;  attorney for 20 years).

GROUP 35 (Judge Orlando Prescott retiring)

Renee Gordon (Assistant Public Defender; attorney for 30 years)

Cristobal Padron (Private practice, family law; attorney for 14 years)***

GROUP 67

Incumbent Judge Mavel Ruiz

Destiny Goede "Alvarez" (Insurance defense; attorney for five years)

We previously posted about the shenanigans that Ms. Goede "Alvarez" pulled with her multiple name changes, twice in two months, under the title "The Name Game," and we encourage you to read it again. You can find it here. (scroll down to Group 67).

GROUP 69 (Judge Richard Hersch retiring)

Rita Baez (Private practice, personal injury; attorney for 30 years)

Yaneth Del Carmen Baez (Assistant State Attorney; attorney for 9 years)

Bonita Jones-Peabody (Private Practice, former APD; attorney for 35 years)

GROUP 76 

Incumbent Judge Spencer Eig

Yenly Dominguez (Private practice, real estate & estate planning; attorney for 7 years)

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE FOLLOWING JUDGES

Twenty-seven incumbent judges were automatically re-elected after drawing no opposition:

Michelle Alvarez Barakat 
Tanya Brinkley 
Beatrice Butchko 
Carmen Cabarga 
Yvonne Colodny 
Ivonne Cuesta 
Jorge Cueto 
Abby Cynamon 
Michelle Delancy 
Dawn Denaro 
Reemberto Diaz 
Veronica Diaz 
Carlos Gamez 
Stacy Glick 
Laura Gonzalez-Marques 
Carlos Guzman 
Christine Hernandez 
Peter Lopez 
Denis Martinez-Scanziani 
Alberto Milian 
Cristina Miranda
Spencer Multack 
Joseph Perkins 
Migna Sanchez-Llorens 
Laura Stuzin 
Daryl Trawick 
Andrea Wolfson 

COUNTY COURT

Again, we begin with the contested races:

GROUP 25

Incumbent Judge Luis Perez-Medina

Maribel Diaz (Miami-Dade Tax Collector’s Office; attorney for 17 years)

GROUP 38

Incumbent Judge Gordon Murray

Renier Diaz de la Portilla (Private Practice; attorney for 18 years)***

***Indicates that the candidate has not yet paid their qualifying fee.

Nine incumbent County Court judges were automatically re-elected:

Donald Cannava
Betty Capote-Erben
Raul Cuervo
Ritamaria Cuervo
Victoria Ferrer
Kevin Hellman
Joanne Marie Hernandez
Natalie Moore 
Stephanie Silver

Best of luck to all of the candidates. Voters go to the polls on August 18, 2026.

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