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.
Captain4Justice@gmail.com