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

JUDICIAL ELECTIONS 2020 ..... THREE NEW JUDGES .....

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:


MAJOR, MAJOR, BIG TIME BREAKING NEWS .....

Incumbent Judge Dava Tunis has drawn an opponent.

Candidate Rosy Aponte, who filed and qualified to run against Incumbent Judge Gordon Murray in Group 38 of the County Court has just switched and filed to run against Judge Tunis in Circuit Court Group 75.

Aponte has previously been unsuccessful in seeking a seat on the bench:

- she ran for a County Court seat against Judge Kristy Nunez in 2018, losing that race by 52 % to 48%.

- she ran for a Circuit Court seat against Judge Oscar Rodriguez-Fonts and Carol Breece in 2016. Ms. Aponte failed to make the runoff as she gained only 26% of the vote compared to Rodrgiuez Fonts (34%) and Breece (40%) in the Primary.

Judge Tunis was first appointed by Governor Bush in 2005. She ran unopposed in 2008 and again ran unopposed in 2014. She has never faced an opponent. UNTIL NOW.
 

Mr. Vereen has now been qualified by the Department of Elections.



Ms. Martinez-Scanziani has also been qualified by the Dept. of Elections.



Ms. Delancey is still without an opponent.


Mr. Spector has not yet qualified to run against Judge Bandin.

UPDATE ON CANDIDATE ROD VEREEN:
He has submitted a NEW check at 11:41 AM today. This check has written at the top left:  
CAMPAIGN TO ELECT
RODERICK VEREEN




and

This check appears to be signed by his Campaign Treasurer. So, by all accounts, it appears that Mr. Vereen has resolved any issues with his qualifying check. 
 
 
 





DOES ROD VEREEN HAVE SOME QUALIFYING ISSUES? On it's face he appears to have two problems.  His check may not have been written from a "campaign account".  Also, his check was signed by Mr. Vereen - which according to the Election Rules (see below), he was not permitted to do. (He is not his own campaign treasurer). Story developing .....


Qualifying Fee The qualifying fee must be: • Paid by a properly executed check drawn on the campaign account. (A personal check, cashier’s check, money order, or cash is not acceptable); • Made payable to the Florida Department of State, Florida Secretary of State, or Florida Division of Elections; and • In an amount not less than the fee required. The check must be signed by the campaign treasurer or deputy treasurer. A check signed by a candidate who has not been designated as the treasurer or deputy treasurer is not acceptable.



Shaun Spector has just filed in Group 24 of the County Court against Incumbent Judge Christine Bandin.  Spector has been an attorney for nine years and runs his own law firm in Coral Gables where he primarily practices commercial litigation.  Judge Bandin was appointed to the bench by Gov. Scott in October of 2018. At the time she was a partner with Shutts & Bowen.  She has been an attorney for 13 years.  Ms. Bandin has only raised $12,780 from 45 contributors and loaned her campaign $500.  She does have a net worth of $540,979. 

Denise Martinez-Scanziani has just filed in Group 65 against Incumbent Judge Thomas Rebull.  She has a Net Worth of $1,423,019 and had income last year  of $323,657.  Judge Rebull was first appointed to the bench by Gov. Rick Scott in 2011. He ran unopposed in 2014.  Ms. Martinez-Scanziani first ran in 2008 against Incumbent Circuit Judge Bernard Shapiro losing 59% - 41%.  She next ran in 2016 in retiring Judge Gill Freeman's Group against three opponents. The primary results were no better for her: Mark Blumstein (29%); Luis Perez-Medina (25%); Renee Gordon (24%); and Ms. Martinez-Scanziani (23%).

Roderick D. Vereen has just filed in Group 57 to run against Carmen Cabarga. He has a Net Worth of $2,189,086 and income of $650,000 last year. Vereen is no stranger to campaigns. He ran for Congress in 2010 as a Independent against Fredricka Wilson and lost 86% to 14%. He then ran as a Democrat in 2012 for State Attorney against Katherine Fernandez Rundle, losing 60% - 40%.


BREAKING NEWS #1 .......

COUNTY COURT

Tahya Fuenmayor has decided that she will no longer be a candidate for any judgeship in 2020.

BREATHE - that’s the nine incumbent County Court judges all exhaling a sigh of relief.

Ms Fuenmayor, who had filed in County Court Group 35, and who was on the short end of the move by Governor DeSantis when the Governor appointed Judge Lody Jean to the Circuit Court last Friday, spoke with us earlier today. She was congratulatory towards Judge Jean. But she was disappointed that the Governor chose to steal the opportunity away from the voters of Miami-Dade County to name the Group 35 replacement. Remember, Gov DeSantis could just as easily have chosen Judge Jean on Monday, and then let the voters choose her replacement through an election.

We have it on good authority that there will be some last minute surprises in both County and Circuit Court. That means the nine incumbents in County Court will need to continue to hold their collective breaths for another three days. In Circuit Court, there are still two open seats with only one candidate each:

In Group 37, with Judge Celeste Muir retiring, Michelle Delancy is still unopposed.

In Group 57, with Judge Bernard Shapiro retiring, Carmen Cabarga is also still unopposed.

BREAKING NEWS #2 .......

YOUR THREE NEWEST COUNTY COURT JUDGES ARE:

CARLOS GAMEZ. Judge Gamez has been an attorney for 11 years. He is currently employed as an Assistant City Attorney for the City of Miami. He was first hired out of law school by Perez & Rodriguez. He takes over for Judge Ramiro Areces who was recently elevated to the Circuit Court.

SCOTT JANOWITZ. Judge Janowitz has been an attorney for 14 years. He was an ASA in Broward County for three years. He is now an associate with Geyer, Fuxa, Tyler, PLLC. He fills the vacancy created when Judge Christina DiRaimondo was recently elevated to the Circuit Court.

JEFFREY KOLOKOFF. Judge Kolokoff has been an attorney for 13 years. He was an ASA in Miami-Dade for six years. He is currently an associate with Beighley, Myrick, Udell and Lynne. He replaces Judge Robert Watson who was elevated to the Circuit Court recently.

Two closing points on these three recent appointments.

First, it is even more transpicuous what Governor DeSantis pulled with the Judge Lody Jean appointment (and the one for Judge Zachary James). It took him 57 days (he has a maximum of 60) to name these three new County Court Judges from the date the nominees were placed on his desk. By contrast, he named James after 14 days and Jean after 28 days - the two shortest turnarounds in Miami-Dade County history for Gov DeSantis.

Second, it bears repeating what I wrote about last Friday. The Governor has once again made it crystal clear of his insouciance toward anyone that has the name Assistant Public Defender on their resume. The count is now 62 judges appointed by DeSantis; 43 of them are former ASAs/AUSAs/AAGs and only one was appointed out of the P.D. office: Judge Ayana Harris. This time the Governor had 18 names on his desk for these three open seats, including APDs Kevin Hellman and Gale Lewis. They never had a chance.


We will update these pages regularly with any breaking election news.


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