THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

THE WINNERS:

DADE COUNTY

Samantha Ruiz Cohen 121,015 - 70%
Peter Camacho Adrien 51,806 - 30%

Monica Gordo 105,841 - 64%
Robert Kuntz 59,164 - 36%

Edward Newman 88,567 - 53%
Manny Alvarez 80,138 - 47%

Michaelle Gonzalez Paulson 90,941 - 57%
Flora Seff 69,652 - 43%

All in all, as expected, except of course for the Paulson victory. The voters of Dade County have spoken and they have elected an eight (8) year "veteran" attorney over a career prosecutor than has spent 30 years practicing law. Did Flora have that "Loree Schwartz Feiler Fever" and turn off enough attorneys that appeared before her, that that reputation trickled down to the voters in our community? Was the Gonzalez name the primary reason why the voters elected someone with only 1/4 of the experience. And they didn't just barely elect her; this was a 14 point loss for Seff. I have no doubt Judge Seff will land on her feet and find another calling in the law where she can use her experience and talent to improve the practice of law around her.

And, now that Ed Newman has faced a serious opponent and has almost lost, will he change his ways on the 6th floor? Likely not. He believes that he is running the show up there the way it should be run.

Good luck to all the winners.

BROWARD

20 races and not one incumbent lost. Yes, you heard it right. Despite the ravings of the JAABLOG to throw the bums out and to challenge the current structure that has been running the courthouse for so many years, all of the challengers to the incumbents lost. And they lost BIG. The winners garnered 71%, 55%, 58%, 69%, 64%, 65%, 56%, 70%, 71%, 60%, 70%, 67%, 75%, and 70%.

There is one race that will go down to the wire and may result in a recount.

Circuit Judge Carlos Rebollo - 60,166 - 50%
Challenger Bob Nichols - 59,206 - 50%

What happened to the strong ethnic "Jewish" vote that used to carry the day for anyone running in Broward. Either they are all dead, stayed home, or the electorate got much more intelligent in the past few years.

By my count, there were 12 races where an incumbent Judge faced a Jewish challenger. The final tally: Incumbents 12 - Jewish Challengers - 0.

Gillespie beat Parker
Williams beat Schneider
Rodriguez beat Goldstein
Lebow beat Rafilovich
Destry beat Jakovich
Rebello is beating Nichols
McCarthy beat Bernstein
Luzzo beat Levine
Porter beat Seidman
O'Connor beat Sokoloff
Skolnik beat Steinsaltz
Merrigan beat Golburgh
Hurley beat Donoho
Pratt beat Berkowitz Carpenter
Robinson beat Breslow

Congratulations to former APD Sandra "Sandy" Perlman who destroyed County Judge Lee Jay Seidman in an open seat on the Circuit Court. Perlman had filed 18 months before the deadline. Seidman filed 18 minutes before the deadline. The voters chose Perlman 68% to Seidman 32%.

Congrats go out to APD Mindy Solomon as she won an open County Court seat by beating Roshawn Banks, 68% - 32%.

Congrats to Ken Gottlieb (former Hollywood Commiss, former State House Member) as he wins a seat on the People's Court by getting more votes than Steven Schaet, 65% - 35%.

Run-offs in County Court:

John Fry - 41,745
John Howes - 41,311

and

FJ McLawrence - 43,411
Mardi Anne Levey Cohen - 39,824
(Yes, she adds one more name after each election loss)

So, not much change "North of the Border"

See you in Court.

CAPTAIN OUT ......

Before we get to El Capitan: Coming soon- New Rules at Casa Charlie- "but don't say an 'f'ing' thing about it....or else."

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

ELECTION CENTRAL 2010 – COUNTY COURT


Good afternoon loyal readers. The polls have been open for one week now and according to Miami-Dade’s Election Chief, voter turnout so far is light. You can exercise your constituitonal right to vote by absentee ballot, or, by showing up at a polling cite between now and Election Day during Early Voting, or, you can wait until Tuesday, August 24, 2010, Election Day.

In Miami-Dade County, voters will cast ballots in four contested judicial elections. Last week, we covered the two Circuit Court races. Today, let’s review the first contested race for County Court.

In the County Court, Group 7, incumbent Judge Edward Newman faces off against challenger Manuel “Manny” Alvarez.

JUDGE EDWARD NEWMAN

He has been a member of The Florida Bar since 1987. He was first elected to the bench in 1994. Those of you old enough to remember will recall that Judge Newman actually attempted to run for Judge in 1992. Only problem: the Florida Constitution says that you must be an attorney for five years before you can qualify to run for Judge; at the time, Newman was not.

Newman, like Circuit Court candidate Robert Kuntz, took up law as a second career. Newman played college football at Duke and was drafted by the Miami Dolphins in 1973 in the sixth round. He played 12 years with the Fins, went to three Super Bowls, won one (in his rookie season) and made the Pro Bowl four times as an offensive lineman. During his final season as a pro, Newman began taking night classes at the UM law school. He graduated with his law degree three years later.

His entire 16-year career on the bench has been in County Court. And, it seems from reading this blog recently, that our readers either love him or hate him. He certainly has his own way of doing things, and Coral Gables attorney and JNC member Gonzalo Dorta learned that when he appeared before Newman on March 24, 2010 on an LSA case. Although the State eventually Nolle Prossed the case on the day of trial, many of you have already read the transcript of the colloquy that took place between the Judge and Dorta’s two attorneys: Robert Pertierra and Al Milian. (To see the transcript, take a look back at Rumpole's August 4, 2010 post on this blog). To some, Newman's judicial demeanor was unacceptable; to others, it was just Newman being Newman.

Judge Newman has raised $184,000. Of that, $110,000 is his own money. Judge Newman had a good quarter (April 1 - July 16) and raised $40,300. Some of his $500 contributors include: Best & Associates, Leinoff & Lemos, Jaurequi & Jaurequi, Robert Reiff, Simon Steckel, Eric Stupel, Scott Hidnert, Ron Book, and Mark Seiden.

He has spent $91,000 so far, including spending over $51,000 in just the past couple of weeks. Most of that money ($48,000) went to Creative Ideas Advertising (Maritza Gutierrez; yes she is related to Armando), for direct mail, yard signs, palm cards, etc. He has also paid at least two consultants: Armando Gutierrez has been paid $13,000 and Nelson Horta has received $1,000.

NOTABLE EXPENSES: I noticed three very questionable expenses: On July 2, Newman spent $343.35 at Sports Authority for “Miami Dolphin momentos for fundraiser hats and footballs”. On July 4, Newman went back to Sports Authority and spent another $53.60 for the same thing. And on July 9, Newman billed his campaign for $318.32 for a charge at Cubavera for “Guaybera shirts as consideration for player appearance". Now, the way I read that is Newman had to buy some fancy shirts for one or more of his former Fins football players in order to get them to show up at a fundraiser. Is that a permissible expense to charge to your campaign???

You can visit Judge Newman's web site here.


MANUEL “MANNY” ALVAREZ

He has been a member of The Florida Bar since 1986. During his more than 24 years of practicing law, Manny has been an Assistant Public Defender in Miami for almost 20 years. He twice hung out his own shingle: going solo from 1989-1992 and with the law firm of Gonzalez (Silvia-his wife) & Alvarez from 2005-2007. He returned to the PD’s office for his most recent stint in 2007.

During his career at the PD’s office, Alvarez has handled everything from Juvenile cases through capital murder cases. He is currently First Chair Death Qualified. Alvarez is also an accomplished appellate attorney having authored over 800 appeals with over 200 published opinions. He has argued before the Florida Supreme Court eight (8) times.

Recently, the DBR covered a story concerning the 1992 arrest of Alvarez on two charges: Carrying a Concealed Firearm and Violation of DV Restraining Order (F91-18321). The allegations centered around Alvarez’ mother calling police and informing them that Alvarez was at her home in violation of a restraining order she’d obtained against him (91-22003-FC-04*). Alvarez entered a PTI Diversion program, completed it successfully and all charges were dismissed. (*According to the online docket, it appears that the DV Order was dismissed 39 days after it was filed).

Some in our legal community have posed that Dorta, Pertierra, Milian and others urged Alvarez to file against Newman because of the way he handled the Dorta case. Alvarez denies these allegations; although he did file his papers with the Division of Elections to run for Judge on March 30, 2010 just three weeks before the deadline, (and six days after the Dorta hearing).

Alvarez has raised a total of $40,800. Of that, only $1,000 is a loan from Manny. Maximum $500 contributors include: Rob Pertierra, Alberto Milian, Gonzalo Dorta, Gonzalo Dorta PA, Matias Dorta PA, Gamba & Lombana, Rene Sotorrio, and Arnold Trevilla.

Alvarez has spent a total of $17,100 so far. He paid $1,000 to consultant Janell Amador, $1,000 to Stephanie Warnell, and $1,000 to Willing Campaigns, Inc (Julio Perez).

You can visit Alvarez’s web site here.

The Miami Herald has endorsed Judge Newman. Who do our readers and bloggers think should wear the robe? Let's hear from you!


CAPTAIN OUT .....

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

ELECTION CENTRAL 2010 - THE VOTING BEGINS

Voting began on Monday, August 9, 2010 and in Miami-Dade County, voters will cast ballots in four contested judicial elections.

In the Circuit Court, Group 62, an open seat due to the retirement of Judge Paul Siegel, Assistant State Attorney Monica Gordo faces off against private attorney Robert Kuntz.

MONICA GORDO

Ms. Gordo attended law school at the U and graduated in 1999. Her entire legal career has been with the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office. She currently is assigned to the Gang Strike Force as a special prosecutor. She has tried 52 jury trials and an additional 57 bench trials.

Ms. Gordo is active in CABA and is Pres. Elect of the League of Prosecutors. She filed to run for Judge in March of 2010.

In the past five months, Ms. Gordo has raised a total of $69,010 from 333 contributors. She added an additional $2,000 in personal loans to her campaign. To date, she has spent $37,209. Some of her notable $500 donors include: Akerman Senterfitt, Sam Rabin (see Kuntz below), Ron Book, Dade County PBA, Miami Fraternal Order of Police, and Mark Lefcourt. Her expenses have gone to consultants Stephanie Bromfield $3,000; Angie Gold $500; Margarita Armona $500 and Lourdes Molina $500. Her campaign Treasurer is Hector Lombana.

You can visit Ms. Gordo's web site at http://www.monicagordoforjudge.com/ .

Take a look at her web site and view her "commercial" where her son professes: "vote for my mom; she's even fair to us".

ROBERT KUNTZ

Mr. Kuntz has been a member of The Florida Bar since 1996. But law was not his first career. He was a journalist for 12 years and spent the last two years of that career writing for The Daily Business Review (from 1991-1993). He covered the State and Federal Courts, including the Court Broom cases among others. It was that coverage of the courts that caused him to attend law school at the University of Miami. During his 14 year legal career, he worked for Holland & Knight for six years and has been with Devine Goodman Raco & Wells for the past eight years where is currently a partner at that firm.

Mr. Kuntz has tried two jury trials, four bench trials, and numerous arbitration hearings and mediations. His practice is evenly divided in that he represents 50% plaintiffs and 50% defendants. He is a commercial litigator. He is Past President of the Dade County Defense Bar Association.

Mr. Kuntz filed to run in December of 2008, some 20 months ago. In that time, he has raised $75,881 from a total of 383 contributors. He has added only $100 of his own money to the campaign. Kuntz has so far spent $61,861.

Notable contributors at the $500 level include: Lewis Tein, Ervin Gonzalez, Sam Rabin (see Gordo above), The Bail Bond Firm, Brian Tannebaum, and Richard Sharpstein. He has spent money on two consultants: Ruby Feria $6,800 and Armando Gutierrez $2000.

You can visit the Robert Kuntz web site at http://www.electrobertkuntz.com/ .

A good place to go to get some more insight into both candidates is:

http://www.floridabar.org/divcom/pi/jcandis.nsf/WDOCS. There you can scroll down to 11th Circuit, Group 62 and click on either candidate.

Ms. Gordo states in part:

"If elected, I will always strive to uphold the Constitutional rights of each and every citizen that comes before me with the utmost professionalism and attention to the highest standard of ethics. I will also carefully scrutinize each legal decision with unwavering attention to following the law at every juncture of my decision-making process. "

Mr. Kuntz' personal statement includes:

"I seek this position out of a desire to serve people who come into the daunting, even terrifying, world of the courts on the worst day of their lives. They are in trouble, or their family is, or their business is. They have faith that, when they get to court, there is going to be someone there to listen to them, to have compassion, to be smart enough and work hard enough to "get it right", while treating every person with the dignity they deserve. I want to vindicate that faith every day I serve on the bench."


The Miami Herald has endorsed Ms. Gordo. Who do our readers and bloggers think should wear the robe? Let's hear from you!

Next, County Court: Newman v. Alvarez & Seff v. Gonzalez-Paulson

CAPTAIN OUT .....

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

ELECTION CENTRAL 2010 - THE VOTING BEGINS


Good morning loyal readers. It's Monday, August 9, 2010 and the polls are officially open. You can vote by absentee ballot, or, show up at a polling cite between now and election day during Early Voting, or, you can wait until Tuesday, August 24, 2010, election day.

In Miami-Dade County, voters will cast ballots in four contested judicial elections.

In the Circuit Court, Group 45, incumbent Judge Peter Adrien faces off against challenger Samantha Ruiz Cohen.

JUDGE PETER ADRIEN

A brief history on Judge Adrien: He has been a member of The Florida Bar since 1994. He was elected to the bench in 2004. He was born on the island of Antigua and is Miami-Dade's first Antiguan Judge. He worked at the Legal Aide Society for 11 years. He currently teaches as an adjunct professor at Miami Dade College in their paralegal program and has been doing that since 1995.

In 2000, Peter Sylvester Adrien ran for Circuit Court Judge in a four-way race. He ran using his legal name. In the primary, Gina Mendez scored 40% of the vote. Dennis Murphy was second with 29% of the vote; Martin Zilber pulled in 25% of the vote; and Adrien garnered 6% of the vote. (In the runoff, Murphy squeaked by Mendez).

In 2004, Adrien decided to again run for Judge. This time he chose incumbent Henry "Hank" Harnage. Harnage has been appointed by Gov, Chiles in 1996 and won a full term in 1998 beating Elio Vasquez. Adrien filed to run shortly before the qualifying deadline. Only this time, he ran under the name Peter Camacho Adrien. Camacho was his Portuguese mother's maiden name. He told the press back then that he attributed his loss in 2000 to the confusion with the Sylvester name. In the election, Harnage got beat by Adrien, 57%-43%.

In the past six years, Adrien has made a name for himself on the bench, both in the Criminal Division (4 years) and the General Jurisdiction Division (2 years).

In the 2010 election, Judge Adrien has raised a total of $25,995 from 96 contributors, with no monetary loans to himself. He raised $16,125 in the past reporting quarter (April 1 - July 30, 2010). He has spent all but $645 of that money, spending $25,350. He has hired no consultants according to his expenditure report.

Notable law firms that have donated the maximum $500 include Grossman Roth PA, Podhurst Orseck PA, Feldman Gale PA, the Ticktin Law Group (aren't they the ones with that weird tv commercial where all the attorneys look straight ahead into the camera at the last second?), Lew Tein PA, and Guy Lewis, who has donated $1,500 through three entities. One has to ask themselves: do these firms really believe he is the best candidate running, or do they currently have cases filed before the Judge? Just curious?!

You can visit Judge Adrien's web site at www.judgeadrien2010.com .

SAMANTHA RUIZ COHEN

She has been a member of The Florida Bar since 1992. She began her career with the Miami Dade State Attorney's Office and worked there for more than ten years. She rose through the ranks and became a Division Chief. She was also the office's Training Director for a number of years. She currently is in private practice with the law firm of Bennett Aiello Cohen & Fried where she handles product liability cases. She also teaches Constitutional Law at FIU.

Ms. Ruiz Cohen has been out on the campaign trail for much of the past year and a half. She has attended more campaign fundraisers and raised more money than any other candidate in any of the local contested judicial elections. According to the most up to date reporting cycle, she has raised $89,112 and has also loaned her campaign an additional $112,500 for a total war chest of $201,612. Ms. Ruiz Cohen has already spent $120,423. Her 417, yes 417 contributors include three bail bonding companies that each gave the $500 max: A1 Magic Bail Bonds, Singh's Bail Bonds, and Rivas Bonding.

Some of her money has gone to campaign consultants, including: Susan Fried $15,000; Stephanie Bromfield $6,550; Zenaida Russell $4,000; Margarita Armona $1,000; Isolina Marono $300; and Sid Gersh $200.

You can visit the Samantha Ruiz Cohen web site at www.samantha4judge.com .

The Miami Herald has endorsed Ms. Ruiz Cohen. Who do our readers and bloggers think should wear the robe? Let's hear from you!

Tomorrow, Group 62: Gordo v. Kuntz.

CAPTAIN OUT .....

FRIDAY JUDICIAL ELECTIONS UPDATE

SEIDMAN IN... SWARTZ OUT!!!

Our first update comes from North of the Border, where, thanks to the JAA Broward Blog, we learned that Judge Lee "six shooter" Seidman has filed against Judge Leebow, making it a 3 person race for Judge Leebow's seat.

And former Judge Jeff Swartz, who was first in against Judge Adrien, is also first out. Here is his withdrawal letter. Judge (for now) Adrien is left to tangle with the formidable Samantha Ruiz-Cohen. If you go by fundraising and contributions from attorneys, its not so surprising to see that Adrien has had almost no support from the legal community. Now why in the world could that be? Here's one thing for certain: Adrien will not slide by on that "Camacho" scam he pulled off against Judge Hank Harnage. Not when running against a candidate with the last name of "Ruiz-Cohen". So now it's down to competency and merit.

Here's the link to the candidates list. You have to scroll towards the bottom to get to the Judges in Dade and Broward. So far, outside of Johnson getting an opponent yesterday and Swartz dropping out, no new surprises, But that can change as quickly as the clock ticks from 11:58 to 11:59.

There's plenty of judges who didn't sleep too well last night, and who are glued to their computer screen and cell phone. While we predict a few more surprises, most will be ok.

We're going to do a little training today, so if you want to see Rumpole in action, we'll be riding our bike on the Key for a bit, then a short swim, back on the bike and off the key. We'll check in again after we've gotten home and showered.

TICK TOCK

Ask not for whom the bell tolls (you robed readers)

It tolls for thee....

Nunc lento sonitu dicunt, Morieris.

Friday at noon is the filing deadline for those who want to run for Judge.

Will Milt Hirsch get opposition?

Will Jeff Swartz jump out of the Samantha Ruiz Cohen race? (She's running against Judge Adrien).

Will Manny Alvarez and Judge Ed Newman challenge each other to a weight lifting contest? Whomever throws up the most plates wins.

Will every single lawyer in Broward challenge a sitting Judge?

Will Judge Lee "six shooter" Seidman lose his famous temper in the final minutes as he paces the halls of the clerk's office in Tallahassee?

We have reporters stationed throughout our state. From the wood paneled chambers of Judges, to the back room at Andrews 288 restaurant in Tallahassee,to Cafe Versailles on 8th street, the Justice Building Blog will bring you up to the minute* updates on who has opposition, who doesn't, who's crying, who's laughing, and what deals were struck.

Plus the award winning** political reporting and commentary of the Captain, make this blog the only site to monitor as the clock ticks down to high noon Friday.

(*we may go for an early afternoon bike ride, but as soon as we get back and shower and towel off, we'll let you know what happened. )

(**I think we gave him an award last year for something.)

CIRCUIT COURT REPORT

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

ELECTION CENTRAL ….. CIRCUIT COURT

The following Circuit Court Judges face election this Fall and have drawn NO opposition:

Group 03 John Schlesinger
Group 10 Scott Bernstein
Group 12 Bertila Soto
Group 20 John Thornton, Jr.
Group 26 Scott Silverman
Group 28 Jennifer Bailey
Group 30 Rosa Rodriguez
Group 32 Barbara Areces
Group 34 Gill Freeman
Group 39 William Johnson
Group 40 William Thomas
Group 52 Michael Genden
Group 59 Nushin Sayfie
Group 73 Julio Jimenez
Group 74 George Sarduy

The following Circuit Court Groups are open/contested:

Group 21 Judy Kreeger ***

Two candidates have filed to run in this election: Miguel de la O and Patricia Kopco. However, Judge Kreeger has recently tendered her resignation letter to Governor Crist and will retire on June 30, 2010. The 11th Circuit JNC has asked applicants to submit their applications for this “open seat”. The deadline for submitting applications is May 10, 2010. Can the Governor take this seat out of the hands of the voters and make the appointment himself? It appears that he can and will attempt to do so. Will de la O or Kopco file suit challenging this move?

Group 41 Milton Hirsch***

Judge Gerald Hubbart is retiring. Milton filed for this seat on October 1, 2008. In the past 19 months, Mr. Hirsch has raised a total of $160,000 and deposited an additional $100,000 of his own money into his campaign account. Will the $260,000 scare off anyone from filing against him? Will Richard Hersch fly solo in his Cessna to Tallahassee and make an 11:59 am filing and by virtue of the "e" in his name, be first on the ballot in a race against "i" ? We will all know the answers to these questions on or before April 30, 2010, the deadline for filing.

Group 45 Peter Adrien, Samantha Ruiz Cohen, Jeffrey Swartz ***

Judge Adrien has filed for re-election to the seat he first won in 2004. He has raised a total of $9,870 for his campaign.

Mrs. Ruiz Cohen and Mr. Swartz each filed exactly one year ago. Ruiz Cohen has had, at last count, attended 432 campaign fundraisers, (that was a joke) and has raised $66,000. She has dropped an additional $112,500 of her own money into the campaign. Swartz has raised a whopping $250 in his one fundraiser, which was attended by one person, Rumpole; (that was also a joke). He has also added $2,160 of his own money to his campaign war chest.

Group 62 Monica Gordo, Robert Kuntz ***

Judge Paul Siegel is retiring. Ms. Gordo filed only one month ago and has raised $2,350 as of the last reporting period. She has also contributed $2,000 of her own money to the campaign. Mr. Kuntz filed 16 months ago and he has raised nearly $55,000. He added $100 of his own money to the campaign coffers.

So, my fellow bloggers, what say you? Which incumbents deserve opposition? Which incumbents will draw opposition? Should Milt Hirsch win without facing an opponent? Will anyone risk running against someone who has over a quarter of a million dollars that he is willing to spend to win a seat that is worth at least $850,000.

We will know the answers to these questions and more by Friday.

CAPTAIN OUT ……

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS ON COUNTY COURT ELECTIONS

BREAKING - BREAKING - NEWS ... FROM THE CAPTAIN ......

Judge Seraphin & Judge Graham have filed their papers TODAY and will be running to retain their current status as County Court Judges.


But first some breaking news from Rumpole:


BROWARD CENTRAL: DOWN GOES GARDINER (no, not that way). The Broward Blog The Juice reports that Judge Gardiner will resign from the bench rather than explain her thousands of texts to her "snookums" otherwise known as former ASA Howard Scheinberg, who happened to be prosecuting a defendant and was seeking the death penalty while he and the Judge were otherwise canoodling and laughing at jurors who couldn't stomach some gruesome crime scene pictures.


If you're someone who values uncaring, sarcastic and snide judges, then you might be saying "what a loss" to the bench and Broward. Otherwise this is a step in the right direction for a County that desperately needs to reshape and rehabilitate the image of its judiciary which right now is one step below that of Tiger Woods and Ben Roethlisberger and perhaps the ruling party of North Korea.



THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

ELECTION CENTRAL ….. COUNTY COURT

The following County Court Judges face election this Fall and have drawn NO opposition:

Group 15 Judy Rubenstein
Group 20 Beth Bloom
Group 23 Carroll Kelly
Group 31 Lisa Walsh
Group 34 Rodney Smith

The following County Court Groups are open/contested:

Group 05 Fred Seraphin ***

I am not sure how many readers out there know this, but Judge Seraphin has NOT filed to run for re-election. And no one else has filed either. Maybe Judge Adrien will drop out of his race and file for this "open" seat. Trivia: Name the Circuit Court Judge who left office and came back later as a County Court Judge???

Group 07 Edward Newman, Manuel Alvarez ***

Judge Edward Newman has an opponent. Those were my words on this BLOG on March 30, 2010 when I reported that Alvarez had filed to run against the sitting jurist. The same week that Alvarez filed his papers and said “I'll see ya”, Newman responded with an “I’ll raise ya” by dropping $100k of his own money into the campaign. Newman has raised a total of nearly $27,000 and has added $110,000 of his own money to the campaign. Alvarez opened his account with a personal loan of $1,000.

Group 11 Flora Seff, Michaelle Gonzalez-Paulson ***

Judge Flora Seff is attempting to win a full term. She also has opposition. Seff has raised over $41,000 and added $5,500 of her own money to the campaign. Gonzalez-Paulson has raised just over $7,000 and has put down $500 of her own money. The big issue in this campaign, at least as far as the readers of this blog are concerned is experience. Seff has been a member of The Florida Bar for 30 years; Gonzalez Paulson has eight years under her belt. Paulson supporters have made judicial demeanor an issue saying that Seff lacks it when she is on the bench. One side note that The Captain is unclear about: The Florida Bar lists Michaelle as Gonzalez Paulson (no hyphen). Her filing papers with the Elections Commission read Gonzalez-Paulson (with the hyphen). Either way, she would appear before Seff on the ballot. Anyone care to comment on this?

Group35 Wendell Graham ***

I am not sure how many readers out there knew this, but Judge Graham also has NOT filed to run for re-election. And no one else has filed either. Maybe Judge Adrien will drop out of his race and file for this "open" seat too. This is not a misprint. Seraphin & Graham – if you are out there – it’s time to “come on down” and file your papers.

So, my fellow bloggers, what say you? Which incumbents deserve opposition? Which incumbents will draw opposition? Will Seraphin and/or Graham decide to retire, or, file for a Circuit Court seat? And will Judge Adrien decide to run for County Court and abandon his Circuit Court seat?

We will know the answers to these questions and more in just over one week. ***COMING MONDAY - CIRCUIT COURT UPDATE***

CAPTAIN OUT ……

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

ELECTION CENTRAL 2010 – IT’S THAT TIME OF YEAR …….

CIRCUIT COURT JUDGE:

There are 20 seats up for election in 2010. So far, 16 Groups have candidates; 4 of those are contested races. There are 4 Incumbents that have yet to file.

Contested Races:

Group 21 (Judy Kreeger retiring):

Miguel de la O
Patricia Kopco

Group 41 (Gerald Hubbart retiring)

Milton Hirsch

Group 45

Peter Adrien (I)
Samantha Ruiz Cohen
Jeffrey Swartz

Group 62 (Paul Siegel retiring)

Robert Kuntz
Juan-Carlos Planas

Incumbents that have yet to file:

Group 10 – Scott Bernstein
Group 12 – Bertila Soto
Group 13 – Norman Gerstein
Group 30 – Rosa Rodriguez

Incumbents (without opposition) that have filed:

John Schlesinger, John Thornton, Scott Silverman, Jennifer Bailey, Barbara Areces, Gill Freeman, William Johnson, William Thomas, Michael Genden, Nunshin Sayfie, Julio Jimenez, George Sarduy


COUNTY COURT JUDGE:

There are 10 seats up for election in 2010. So far, 8 Groups have candidates; 2 of those are contested races. There are 2 Incumbents that have yet to file.

Contested Races:

Group 11

Flora Seff (I)
Michaelle Gonzalez-Paulson

Group 31

Lisa Walsh (I)
Silvia Perez

Incumbents that have yet to file:

Group 5 – Fred Seraphin
Group 35 – Wendell Graham

Incumbents (without opposition) that have filed:

Edward Newman, Judith Rubenstein, Beth Bloom, Carroll Kelly, Amy Karan, Rodney Smith

A reminder that the Governor has six names on his desk to replace former County Court Judge Arzola. Those names are:

Tanya Brinkley
Tamara Gray
Steven Lieberman
Anita Margot Moss
Lourdes Simon
Andrea Ricker Wolfson

Signing off for now, from Election Central ……

CAPTAIN OUT …….