ELECTION CENTRAL - 2022 - SEVEN JUDICIAL CONTESTS - YOUR WINNERS ARE .......

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

ELECTION CENTRAL - VOTE TODAY ..... AND WATCH TONIGHT FOR OUR LIVE COVERAGE OF THE RETURNS .....

YOUR WINNERS ....... (Results below)

With a turnout of 19%, the voters of Miami-Dade County returned four incumbent judges to the bench: Judge Lody Jean, Judge Robert Watson, Judge Oscar Rodriguez-Fonts, and Judge Fred Seraphin.

Three new judges were elected tonight including: bankruptcy attorney Ariel Rodriguez beat back Incumbent Judge Mark Blumstein; insurance defense attorney Lissette De La Rosa ousted Incumbent Judge Jeffrey Kolokoff; and Assistant State Attorney Alicia Garcia Priovolos bested Incumbent Judge Scott Janowitz.

Some observations:

It was satisfying to see that candidates Teressa Tylman (Cervera) and Renier Diaz de la Portilla (DLP) got their just desserts. Both of them were crushed by their opponents.  Tylman was called out by this Blog for playing the Name Game while DLP should be ashamed for the hit pieces that were mailed out by a PAC directly associated with him. We suggest that DLP resign his membership from FACDL-Miami and go back to law school and retake Crim Law and Con Law and re-learn the term "presumption of innocence".  DLP really needs to consider not running for office anymore. You are really bad at it having lost your last four campaigns.

Judge Lody Jean is off to a great start in her new career as a Circuit Court Judge and we wish her the best in her six year term.

Judge Fred Seraphin has regularly been criticized on this Blog for his judicial demeanor. He should learn from his mistakes and be better for what likely will be his last six year term on the bench.

Judge Oscar Rodriguez-Fonts beat a tough opponent in former Judge Jason Bloch. This was the closest contest of the evening with ORF winning by a mere 1,862 votes. This is Bloch's second loss in a Circuit Court race. ORF should think about some of the extreme positions that the Christian Family Coalition (CFC) stands for before he goes after their endorsement again. We take Judge Rodriguez-Fonts at his word that his personal beliefs do not enter into his decision making from the bench.

Having an Hispanic name does not guarantee one a victory - Judge Watson was returned to the bench over his opponent Brenda Guerrero. Judge Jean beat a Cervera; Judge Seraphin beat DLP. 

One could argue that having an Hispanic name didn't hurt Ariel Rodriguez as he sent Judge Blumstein off the bench. Of course the Judge did not help his cause by regularly violating the Dept of Defense rules when he plastered Miami-Dade County with billboards dressed in his Navy dress blues and Navy hat.

It also didn't hurt Lissette De La Rosa. She beat Incumbent Judge Jeffrey Kolokoff in a very tight race winning by only 4,600 votes. We don't know much about Judge-Elect De La Rosa; by all accounts Judge Kolokoff had gotten nothing but very good reviews during his short time on the bench.

As for Judge Janowitz, well, he ran into a buzz-saw. Alicia Garcia Priovolos, a Miami-Dade ASA, was well financed, by all accounts she ran a great campaign, and she was highly qualified. She was the biggest winner of the night winning her race by 20 points.

It is clear that the way we used to see judicial campaigns run, last century, are long past. This is 2022 and there is little doubt that even judicial campaigns, despite the Judicial Canons, will not stop candidates from pulling out all the stops, going right up to the line, and sometimes crossing it, in their attempts to win a seat on the bench.

You can be sure of one thing. We will be there every step of the way. Calling out candidates when we feel it is appropriate.  Digging into candidates backgrounds and educating our readers along the way.

We are Captain Justice for the Justice Building Blog.

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

CIRCUIT COURT

Group  3 

Lody Jean (I)                -   57%
Teressa Maria Cervera -   43%

Group  20

Robert T. Watson (I)     -   53%
Brenda Guerrero           -   47%

Group  34

Mark Blumstein (I)       -   49% (127,520)
Ariel Rodriguez            -   51%  (135,238)

Group  52

Oscar Rodriguez-Fonts (I) -    50% -- (132,167)
Jason Bloch                        -   50% -- (130,305)

COUNTY COURT

Group 05

Fred Seraphin (I)                -   56%
Renier Diaz de la Portilla   -   44%

Group 19     

Jeffrey M. Kolokoff (I)      -   49% -- (127,397)
Lissette De La Rosa           -   51% -- (131,995)

Group 42    

Scott Janowitz (I)               -   40%
Alicia Garcia Priovolos      -   60%

There are a total of seven contested judicial races on the ballot in Miami-Dade County, four in Circuit Court and three more in County Court. Qualifying day was on April 29 and for the past 116 days, the candidates have been criss-crossing the county attending Judicial Candidate Forums (all except for Tessa Tylman) and making speeches at these Forums (all except for Tessa Tylman), and promoting their sense of justice, promising to enforce the language contained in the Constitution and the laws of the State of Florida (all except for Renier Diaz de la Portilla).

There have been numerous JQC and Bar Complaints filed against Ms. Tylman, Mr. Diaz de la Portilla, and Judge Blumstein, for their campaign tactics; a scathing letter was written from the Watson camp to his opponent Brenda Guerrero over her campaign literature; a brouhaha developed between Judge Oscar Rodriguez-Fonts and his opponent Jason Bloch - Rodriguez-Fonts for his appearance at a Christian Family Coalition (CFC) breakfast and Bloch for a text message accusing his opponent of certain things.  There have been accusations of playing The Name Game, with candidate Teressa Maria Tylman changing her name to Cervera, immediately before filing to run for judge; further accusations of Tylman and Diaz de la Cruz targeting the only two Haitian judges on the bench; a nasty hit piece was sent out by a PAC associated with Diaz de la Portilla which included publishing Judge Seraphin’s personal cell phone number and demanding Seraphin release an Arrest report from 40 years ago for charges the Diaz de la Portilla camp knew were never filed; and the endless list seemingly goes on and on.

Of course, The Captain and Rumpole covered it all right here on the award winning Justice Building Blog, breaking several stories before even the Miami Herald, Daily Business Review, and other threads, ran the stories.

So, now it’s up to the voters, who are hopefully just a bit more educated than they were on April 29. And, after the winners are declared tonight, it will be up to The Florida Bar and the Judicial Qualifications Commission (JQC) to sort through the allegedly multiple violations of Bar Rules and Judicial Canons and to determine if there is probable cause to proceed with charges against any of the candidates over the complaints that were filed against them.

Here are the contests to be decided tonight:

CIRCUIT COURT

Group  3 

Lody Jean (I)
Teressa Maria Cervera

Group  20

Robert T. Watson (I)
Brenda Guerrero

Group  34

Mark Blumstein (I)
Ariel Rodriguez

Group  52

Oscar Rodriguez-Fonts (I)
Jason Bloch

COUNTY COURT

Group 05

Fred Seraphin (I)
Renier Diaz de la Portilla

Group 19     

Jeffrey M. Kolokoff (I)
Lissette De La Rosa 

Group 42    

Scott Janowitz (I)
Alicia Garcia Priovolos

A reminder that, in County Court Group 07, the seat where Judge Edward Newman is retiring, only one candidate filed in that Group, Marcus R. Bach Armas, meaning that he was elected unopposed and he will take his seat in January of 2023.

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

THE NAME GAME ... PART TWO ... BRENDA GITCHEV GUERRERO ...

BREAKING NEWS BY RUMPOLE: THE SUPREME COURT IS CIRCULATING A MAJORITY OPINION BY JUSTICE ALITO REVERSING ROE: "ROE WAS EGERGIOUSLY WRONG FROM THE START." 

More to follow on this important issue. 

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

THE NAME GAME ..... PART TWO

BUT FIRST AN IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT

FACDL-Miami is hosting a JUDICIAL CANDIDATES TOWN HALL on Tuesday, May 3rd, from 5:30 - 7:30 PM. The event can be seen on Zoom at the following link: Click this link on May 3 to join the forum (Meeting ID: 943 189 3869 Passcode 378486). The event is co-sponsored by several voluntary bar associations).

Last week we introduced you to Teressa (Tess) Tylman who transformed from Anglo to Hispanic overnight when she decided to run for Circuit Court Judge in Miami-Dade County under the name Teressa Cervera.

Last Friday we were emailed an intercepted communication between candidate Tylman (Cervera) and another candidate for Circuit Court Judge, Brenda Gitchev Guerrero.* Ms. Gitchev Guerrero filed to run in Group 20 against Incumbent Judge Robert Watson.

[Rumpole notes- the conversation which is a satire and NOT REAL is listed below. We do not have Title III powers, and do not intercept communications.]

First, a bit of a background on Ms. Gitchev Guerrero.  Unlike Ms. Tylman, she did not magically become Hispanic overnight. Brenda Liz Guerrero was born in Puerto Rico. She married Veselin Gitchev (from Bulgaria) in 1997. She then began using the name Brenda Gitchev Guerrero. Nothing wrong with that.

Ms. Gitchev Guerrero became a member of The Florida Bar in 2005. She is a former ASA where she worked in the Child Support Division. She currently owns her own practice specializing in family law. She incorporated with the Florida Department of Corporations in 2017 using the name Law Office of Brenda Gitchev Guerrero, PLLC. She is listed with The Florida Bar as attorney Brenda Gitchev Guerrero and she uses the email address of brenda@gitchevguerrerolaw.com. She has a Voter ID card under the name Brenda Gitchev.

On January 21, 2022, she filed her initial paperwork to run for Circuit Court Judge in Group 20. She filed under the name Brenda Gitchev Guerrero. She then proceeded to submit additional paperwork to the Division of Elections:

Statement of Candidate, filed 1/21/22, under the candidate name Brenda Gitchev Guerrero

Statement of Candidate for Judicial Office, filed 1/21/22, under the candidate name Brenda Gitchev Guerrero

Candidate Appointment of Campaign Treasurer, filed 1/21/22, under the candidate name Brenda Gitchev Guerrero (name used three times in this filing)

Amended Candidate Appointment of Campaign Treasurer, filed 1/24/22, under the candidate name Brenda Gitchev Guerrero (name used three times in this filing)

Financial Disclosure, filed on 4/26/22, electronically signed using the name Brenda Gitchev Guerrero

Candidate’s Checking Account opened under the name Brenda Gitchev Guerrero Campaign Account and filing fee check filed on 4/26/22 using the name Brenda Gitchev Guerrero.

Then, on 4/27/22, last Wednesday, Ms. Gitchev Guerrero, filed her Candidate Oath, where she asked that her name on the ballot read, drum roll please, Brenda Guerrero.  As we said at the top of this story. This is not Tylman becomes Cervera. Brenda Guerrero was born with that name. But, Ms. Guerrero was officially running for Judge for 115 days under the candidate name Brenda Gitchev Guerrero. She has held herself out in the legal community for 17 years as Brenda Gitchev Guerrero. Then, on day 116 of her campaign, she requested to have her name placed on the ballot as Brenda Guerrero.

Oh yeah, one more note. Last Friday, (two days after she decided to run as Brenda Guerrero), when Brenda Gitchev Guerrero renewed her Florida Corporation with Sunbiz, she electronically signed as both officer and registered agent under the name Brenda Gitchev Guerrero.

RUMPOLE NOTES: WARNING SATIRE TO FOLLOW

*Here is just part of that intercepted conversation:

Teressa Tylman Cervera (TTC): Hi, is this Brenda Gitchev Guerrero?

Brenda Gitchev Guerrero (BGG): Yes it is, who is this?

TTC: Hi, you don’t know me, my name is Tess Tylman, I mean Tess Cervera and I am running for Circuit Court Judge. I am challenging an Incumbent named Lody Jean. I see you are running against Robert Watson.

BGG: Yes, that’s true. It’s nice to meet you Tess Tylman

TTC: Cervera. You mean Cervera.

BGG: Oh yes, sorry about that.

TTC: Listen, Brenda, if I may call you that. I hope you don’t mind if I extend just one word of advice to you about running for judge.

BGG: No, go right ahead. One word though?

TTC: GUERRERO.

BGG: Excuse me Tess?

TTC: GUERRERO.

BGG: I don’t quite understand.

TTC: Your name. It’s not Brenda Gitchev Guerrero, it’s Brenda Guerrero. Got it.

BGG: Ah yes, I got it Tess. Mucha suerte en la campaña. adiós

TTC: Huh, what did you say?

BGG: Mucha suerte en la campaña. adiós. It’s Spanish for Best of luck on the campaign. Goodbye.

TTC: Sorry, I don’t speak Spanish. Goodbye.**

**The preceding conversation was all in jest, all satire, and never actually took place.

Buena suerte a todos los candidatos en la campaña.

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

QUALIFYING WEEK HAS ENDED ..... YOUR WINNERS & CONTESTED RACES .......

 

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

QUALIFYING WEEK HAS ENDED ..... YOUR WINNERS & CONTESTED RACES*

In Circuit Court, four Incumbent judges drew opponents this year while 19 Incumbent judges were re-elected without a challenger.  In County Court, three Incumbent judges drew opposition and 12 Incumbents were re-elected without anyone filing against them. 

And congratulations to Judge-Elect Marcus Bach Armas who was first to file in the open seat vacated by retiring Judge Edward Newman. Bach Armas did not draw an opponent and he can now turn in his season tickets to the Dolphins front office and exchange those seats for an aqua and orange judicial robe. How fitting that Judge Newman, an offensive lineman, who played in three Super Bowls with the Miami Dolphins, winning one (Super Bowl VIII over the Vikings), is being replaced by the senior counsel for the team he played with for 12 years. Thank you Judge Newman for your 28 years of service to the citizens of Miami-Dade County.

As an added bonus to getting re-elected, your Circuit and County Court judges are expecting a very nice bump in their salaries come July 1. That presumes that Governor DeSantis does not issue a line item veto on the amounts recommended in the Budget bill. 

Under the new budget, effective July 1, a circuit court judge’s salary would increase from $165,509 to $182,060, and a county court judge’s salary would rise from $156,377 to $172,015.

CIRCUIT COURT

CONTESTED CIRCUIT COURT RACES:

Group  3 

Lody Jean (I)
Teressa Maria Cervera

Group  20

Robert T. Watson (I)
Brenda Gitchev Guerrero

Group  34

Mark Blumstein (I)
Ariel Rodriguez

Group  52

Oscar Rodriguez-Fonts (I)
Jason Bloch

Congratulations to the following 19 judges who have earned another six years on the CIRCUIT COURT bench:

Group  4        Christina Marie DiRaimondo (I)

Group  6        Laura Shearon Cruz (I)

Group  9        Marcia del Rey (I)

Group  10 Scott M Bernstein (I)

Group  12 Bertila Ana Soto (I)

Group  16 Tom "Tomas" Rebull (I)

Group  26 William I. Altfield (I)

Group  28 Jennifer D. Bailey (I)

Group  32 Barbara Areces (I)

Group  39 David H Young (I)

Group  40 William Thomas (I)

Group  41 Milton "Milt" Hirsch (I)

Group  45 Samantha Ruiz Cohen (I)

Group  46 Ramiro C. Areces (I)

Group  59 Nushin G. Sayfie (I)

Group  62 Gina Beovides (I)

Group  63 Marlene A. Fernandez-Karavetsos (I)

Group  64 Zachary N. James (I)

Group  74 George "Jorge" A. Sarduy (I)

COUNTY COURT

CONTESTED COUNTY COURT RACES:

Group 05

Fred Seraphin (I)
Renier Diaz de la Portilla

Group 19     

Jeffrey M. Kolokoff (I)
Lissette De La Rosa 

Group 42    

Scott Janowitz (I)
Alicia Garcia Priovolos

Congratulation to the following 10 judges who have earned another six years on the COUNTY COURT bench along with Judge-Elect Bach Armas who avoids a contested election:

Group 03        Ayana Harris (I)

Group 07        Marcus R. Bach Armas (OPEN SEAT - JUDGE NEWMAN RETIRING)

Group 08        Carlos H. Gamez (I)

Group 11        Michaelle Gonzalez-Paulson (I)

Group 13        Elisabeth Espinosa (I)

Group 15        Linda Melendez (I)

Group 23        Carroll Kelly (I)

Group 27        Miesha Shonta Darrough (I)

Group 28        Cristina Rivera Correa (I)

Group 35        Chiaka Ihekwaba (I)

Group 39        Julie Harris Nelson (I)

Good luck to all of the candidates. Enjoy your long, hot summer trekking your way from Florida City north to Aventura and from Miami Beach west to Sweetwater and all points between. Enjoy every pancake breakfast, medianoche sandwich for lunch, and turkey and mashed potato dinner on the way.

The primary election takes place on Tuesday, August 24, 2022.

 *We apologize if there were any last minute filings that we missed but this was pre-scheduled due to circumstances not under our control; (conflict in schedule - as I am in trial).

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

JUDICIAL ELECTIONS 2022 - QUALIFYING WEEK HAS BEGUN - COUNTY COURT RACES

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

QUALIFYING WEEK - PART DEUX - COUNTY COURT .....

COUNTY COURT

In County Court, 13 Incumbents have already filed in their Groups. Judge Edward Newman, in Group 7, is retiring. One attorney, Marcus Bach Armas, has filed to run in that Group. He has yet to draw an opponent, and Mr. Bach Armas is doing everything he can to dissuade anyone from filing against him as he has already raised $136,154 and loaned his campaign another $21,000.

Three Incumbent County Court Judges have opponents. Judge Fred Seraphin, Judge Jeffrey Kolokoff, and Judge Scott Janowitz.

Here is your current line-up for the County Court judicial races.

Group 03         Ayana Harris (I)

Group 05         

Fred Seraphin (I)

Judge Seraphin has paid his Qualifying Fee in the amount of $6,255.08
He has a net worth of $306,179
He has raised $100 from one contributor
He has loaned his campaign $7,166
He is paid $156,377 as a County Court Judge
He was appointed to the bench in 2001 by Gov. Bush. He ran unopposed in 2004 and unopposed again in 2010. In 2016, Milena Abreu ran against him. Seraphin won 50.16% to 49.84%; (he won by 677 votes out of 210,919 cast).
When I first reported on this election back in January, Seraphin was the only Incumbent who had not yet filed for re-election. He is now in catch-up mode as an opponent filed against him on Monday.

Renier Diaz de la Portilla

Mr. De la Portilla filed in this Group on Monday, April 25 and there are no financial documents on file.
He has been a member of The Florida Bar for 14 years.
He runs his own law practice concentrating primarily on criminal defense. He is also a mediator.
He has been a candidate in numerous elections over the course of his lifetime.
He was elected to the Miami-Dade School Board in 1996 at the age of 25 and he served two years.
He was elected in 2000 at age 29 to the Florida House in District 115 in a special election and he served two years. He ran for re-election in 2002 and lost to JC Planas in the primary, 45-43%.
He returned to the School Board from 2006-2012 winning a couple more elections.
In 2012 he ran in House District 103 and lost to Manny Diaz Jr 55-39%.
In 2014 he ran for Circuit Court Judge against Veronica Diaz and he lost 57-43%.
In 2020, he ran for a seat on the Miami-Dade County Commission, District 5, against Eileen Higgins and he lost 53-47%.
If I forgot to mention any of his elections, I am sure Renier can update me in the Comments section.

Group 07        OPEN SEAT - JUDGE NEWMAN RETIRING

Marcus R. Bach Armas 

Attorney Bach has paid his Qualifying Fee.
He has a net worth of $3,673,240 (plus great Dolphins seats).

His annual salary with the Miami Dolphins is $190,663.
He has raised $136,154 from a total of 217 contributors. 
He has loaned his campaign a total of $21,000
He has been a member of The Florida Bar for 13 years. One year at Holland & Knight, one year as a Law Clerk to Fed Judge Gold, and for the past 11 years he has been with the Miami Dolphins now serving as their Senior Director of Legal & Gov’t Affairs.
I believe he is the son of former County Court Judge Mercedes Bach (1995-2008).

Group 08        Carlos H. Gamez (I)

Group 11        Michaelle Gonzalez-Paulson (I)

Group 13        Elisabeth Espinosa (I)

Group 15        Linda Melendez (I)

Group 19     

Jeffrey M. Kolokoff (I)

Judge Kolokoff has paid his Qualifying Fee.
He has a net worth of $2,182,366.

His annual salary as a County Court Judge is $156,377.
He has raised $40,225 from a total of 74 contributors. 
He has loaned his campaign a total of $325,000
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 and then worked for the law firm of Beighley, Myrick.
Judge Kolokoff is clearly trying to scare his opponent into another race. Up until March, he had held zero fundraisers and had raised only $13,325. He finally held his first fundraiser just over a month ago and 50 contributors donated a total of $26,900. On March 30th, Kolokoff loaned his campaign $250,000.

Lissette De La Rosa 

Attorney De La Rosa has paid her Qualifying Fee.
She has a net worth of $543,576.

Her annual salary with Heritage Py. & Casualty is $165,979.
She has raised $56,135 from a total of 81 contributors. 
She has NOT loaned her campaign any money.
She has been a member of The Florida Bar for 20 years. Hard to find out much about her law practice. 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.

Group 23        Carroll Kelly (I)

Group 27        Miesha Shonta Darrough (I)

Group 28        Cristina Rivera Correa (I)

Group 35        Chiaka Ihekwaba (I)

Group 39        Julie Harris Nelson (I)

Group 42        

Scott Janowitz (I)

Judge Janowitz has paid his Qualifying Fee.
He has a net worth of $425,000.

His annual salary as a County Court Judge is $156,377.
He has raised $18,750 from a total of 36 contributors. 
He has loaned his campaign a total of $1,000
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 and then worked for the law firm of Geyer, Fuxa.
Up until two weeks ago, Janowitz hadn’t even held a fundraiser. He had only raised $2,800 from 6 contributors. He is way, way behind his opponent in fundraising.

Alicia Garcia Priovolos

Attorney Priovolos has paid her Qualifying Fee.
She has a net worth of $1,816,344.

Her annual salary as an ASA is $94,890.
She has raised $61,865 from a total of 135 contributors. 
She has loaned her campaign $50,000.
She has been a member of The Florida Bar for 16 years, all of that time as an ASA in Miami-Dade County. She is married to former ASA and current criminal defense attorney John Priovolos.

You don't want to miss our column on Wednesday - we promise, you won't be disappointed.

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

JUDICIAL ELECTIONS 2022 - QUALIFYING WEEK HAS BEGUN - CIRCUIT COURT RACES

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

QUALIFYING WEEK - UN-MASKED EDITION (Masked, for Rumpole) .....

It comes around every two years and your trusted El Capitan is here to bring you all the news. Qualifying week runs from Monday, April 25 - Friday, April 29 at NOON. Today we bring you the latest in the Circuit Court races.

CIRCUIT COURT:

Elections for Judge in Miami-Dade County take place on August 23, 2022.  Currently there are a total of 23 Groups up for election in Circuit Court.

In Circuit Court, all 23 Incumbents have already filed in their respective Groups. Three Incumbent Judges face opposition. They include Judge Lody Jean, Judge Robert Watson, and Judge Mark Blumstein.

Here is your current line-up for the judicial races. (I) stands for Incumbent

CIRCUIT COURT

Group 3

Lody Jean (I)

Judge Jean has paid her Qualifying Fee in the amount of $6,620.36
According to her Financial Documents, she has a Net Worth of $578,512
She is paid $164,909 as a Circuit Court Judge
She has raised $110,734 from a total of 278 contributors. 
She has loaned her campaign a total of $50,000
Judge Jean is a former ASA. She was appointed to the bench by Gov. DeSantis in April of 2020 and this is her first election.

Teressa Maria Cervera

Attorney Cervera has paid her Qualifying Fee.
She filed to run on April 14 and there are zero Financial Documents in her file.
She has been a Member of The Florida Bar for 11 years but I could not find out anything about her law practice when checking online

Group  4        Christina Marie DiRaimondo (I)

Group  6        Laura Shearon Cruz (I)

Group  9        Marcia del Rey (I)

Group  10 Scott M Bernstein (I)

Group  12 Bertila Ana Soto (I)

Group  16 Tom "Tomas" Rebull (I)

Group  20

Robert T. Watson (I)

Judge Watson has paid his Qualifying Fee in the amount of $6,620.36
He has not yet filed any of his Financial Documents
He has raised $109,678 from a total of 266 contributors. 
He has loaned his campaign a total of $50,000
Judge Watson has worn many hats. Steel Hector, Holland & Knight, AUSA (for 5 years), Kobre & Kim. He was appointed to the County Court bench in January of 2019 by Gov Rick Scott as one of Scott's last appointments. He was then elevated to the Circuit Court in December of 2019 by Gov. DeSantis. This will be his first election campaign.

Brenda Gitchev Guerrero

Attorney Guerrero has not yet paid her Qualifying Fee.
She filed to run on January 24 and there are zero Financial Documents in her file.
She has been a Member of The Florida Bar for 16 years.
She runs a private practice specializing in Family law. She is a former ASA where she worked in the Child Support Division.

Group  26 William I. Altfield (I)

Group  28 Jennifer D. Bailey (I)

Group  32 Barbara Areces (I)

Group  34

Mark Blumstein (I)

Judge Blumstein has paid his Qualifying Fee in the amount of $6,620.36
He has not yet filed any of his Financial Documents
He has raised $160,263 from a total of 301 contributors. 
He has loaned his campaign a total of $60,000
Judge Blumstein ran for the Circuit Court bench in 2016 in a four way contest. In the primary he came in first ahead of attorney Luis Perez-Medina. In the general election he defeated Perez-Medina 51% to 49%. This will be his second election campaign.

Ariel Rodriguez

Attorney Rodriguez has paid his Qualifying Fee in the amount of $6,620.36
According to his Financial Documents, he has a Net Worth of $1,606,772
He is paid $156,854 by the U.S.D.O.J.
He has been a Member of The Florida Bar for 23 years.
He is employed by DOJ, Office of the US Trustee as a trial attorney in Bankruptcy court.
He has raised $38,542 from a total of 134 contributors. 
He has loaned his campaign a total of $4,833

Group  39 David H Young (I)

Group  40 William Thomas (I)

Group  41 Milton "Milt" Hirsch (I)

Group  45 Samantha Ruiz Cohen (I)

Group  46 Ramiro C. Areces (I)

Group  52 Oscar Rodriguez-Fonts (I)

Group  59 Nushin G. Sayfie (I)

Group  62 Gina Beovides (I)

Group  63 Marlene A. Fernandez-Karavetsos (I)

Group  64 Zachary N. James (I)

Group  74 George "Jorge" A. Sarduy (I)

Tomorrow - County Court .....

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

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

ELECTION CENTRAL ..... 2022 EDITION ..... 

THE BIG QUESTION ..... IS JUDGE FRED SERAPHIN RUNNING FOR RE-ELECTION???

Elections for Judge in Miami-Dade County take place on August 23, 2022.  The Qualifying period runs one week, from April 25-29, 2022.  Currently there are a total of 23 Groups up for election in Circuit Court and another 14 in County Court.

In Circuit Court, all 23 Incumbents have already filed in their respective Groups. One Incumbent, Mark Blumstein, has drawn a challenger. Blumstein is being challenged by attorney Ariel Rodriguez, a 23 year member of The Florida Bar. Rodriguez currently is employed at the U.S. Dept. Of Justice in the Office of U.S. Trustee.

In County Court, 12 Incumbents have already filed in their Groups. Judge Edward Newman, in Group 7, is retiring. One attorney, Marcus Bach Armas, has filed in that Group. He has yet to draw an opponent, and Mr. Bach Armas is doing everything he can to dissuade anyone from filing against him as he has already raised $113,000 and loaned his campaign another $41,000.

The 14th Group in County Court, Group 5, is a seat currently held by Judge Fred Seraphin. Judge Seraphin is the only Incumbent who has not yet filed for re-election. We emailed Judge Seraphin last week and asked him for any updates on his future as a judge. He has yet to respond.  

Finally, two Incumbent County Court Judges have opponents. Judge Scott Janowitz, in Group 42, is being challenged by attorney Alicia Garcia Priovolos, an ASA in Miami-Dade County for the past 16 years. Also, Judge Jeffrey Kolokoff, in Group 19, woke up on Friday last week to the news that he had an opponent. Filing against Kolokoff is attorney Lissette de la Rosa, a member of The Florida Bar for 20 years.  One big difference between Incumbents Kolokoff and Janowitz.  Judge Kolokoff has already accumulated $55,925 in his war chest and seemed to be ready in case he drew an opponent. Contrast that with Judge Janowitz. He has only raised $2,550 (and $2,000 of that comes from the Janowitz family).

Here is your current line-up for the judicial races.

CIRCUIT COURT

Group  3        Lody Jean

Group  4        Christina Marie DiRaimondo  

Group  6        Laura Shearon Cruz

Group  9        Marcia del Rey

Group  10 Scott M Bernstein

Group  12 Bertila Ana Soto

Group  16 Tom "Tomas" Rebull

Group  20 Robert T. Watson

Group  26 William I. Altfield

Group  28 Jennifer D. Bailey

Group  32 Barbara Areces

Group  34 Mark Blumstein
          Ariel Rodriguez

Group  39 David H Young

Group  40 William Thomas

Group  41 Milton "Milt" Hirsch

Group  45 Samantha Ruiz Cohen

Group  46 Ramiro C. Areces

Group  52 Oscar Rodriguez-Fonts

Group  59 Nushin G. Sayfie

Group  62 Gina Beovides

Group  63 Marlene A. Fernandez-Karavetsos

Group  64 Zachary N. James

Group  74 George "Jorge" A. Sarduy

COUNTY COURT

Group 03        Ayana Harris  

Group 07        Marcus R. Bach Armas 

Group 08        Carlos H. Gamez 

Group 11        Michaelle Gonzalez-Paulson 

Group 13        Elisabeth Espinosa 

Group 15        Linda Melendez 

Group 19        Jeffrey M. Kolokoff 
        Lissette De La Rosa 

Group 23        Carroll Kelly 

Group 27        Miesha Shonta Darrough 

Group 28        Cristina Rivera Correa 

Group 35        Chiaka Ihekwaba 

Group 37        Diana Vizcaino 

Group 39        Julie Harris Nelson 

Group 42        Scott Janowitz 
        Alicia Garcia Priovolos

We will be following the judicial elections for the Blog over the next seven months and reporting to you with updates. If you have any juicy information you would like to share, please email us at the email address listed below.

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

JUDICIAL ELECTIONS 2022

 

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

"Speak the truth to one another, render true and perfect justice in your gates" ......

It was reported in The Guardian this week that Israeli archaeologists have unearthed two dozen Dead Sea scroll fragments from a remote cave in the Judean Desert. The biblical scroll bits of parchment were found after teams rappelled down an 80 metre cliff and scoured The Cave of Horror. It is believed that the scrolls have been there since approximately AD132. The scrolls found were Greek translations of the books of Zachariah and Nahum. One fragment read:

“These are the things you are to do: Speak the truth to one another, render true and perfect justice in your gates”.  Powerful words that could be hung over every bench in every courtroom in our own Gerstein Justice Building.

ELECTION CENTRAL - JUDICIAL ELECTIONS 2022

One year from now, candidates will be qualifying to run for Circuit and County Court Judge in Miami-Dade County.  But, after having already received no less than a dozen invites to campaign fundraisers within just the past couple of weeks, we thought we would share the list of Incumbent Judges and likely races.

CIRCUIT COURT

A total of 23 Incumbents:

William Altfield - has communicated with me that he intends to file for re-election

Barbara Areces - intends to file for re-election

Ramiro Areces - FILED for re-election

Jennifer Bailey - FILED 

Gina Beovides - has not responded to my requests so we have no idea of her intentions

Scott Bernstein - intends to file for re-election

Mark Blumstein - intends to file for re-election

Samantha Ruiz Cohen - FILED

Laura Shearon Cruz - intends to file for re-election

Marcia Del Rey - we have no idea of her intentions

Christina DiRaimondo - FILED 

Marlene Fernandez-Karavetsos - intends to file for re-election

Milton Hirsch - FILED

Zachary James - FILED

Lody Jean - FILED

Thomas Rebull - FILED

Oscar Rodriguez-Fonts - we have no idea of his intentions

George Sarduy - intends to file for re-election

Nushin Sayfie - FILED

Bertila Soto - intends to file for re-election

William Thomas - we have no idea of his intentions

Robert Watson - FILED

David Young - intends to file for re-election

COUNTY COURT

A total of 15 Incumbents:

Cristina Rivera Correa - we have no idea of her intentions

Miesha Darrough - intends to file for re-election

Elisabeth Espinosa - intends to file for re-election

Carlos Gamez - we have no idea of his intentions

Michaelle Gonzalez-Paulson - intends to file for re-election

Ayana Harris - we have no idea of her intentions

Chiaka Ihekwaba - intends to file for re-election

Scott Janowitz - intends to file for re-election

Carroll Kelly - FILED

Jeffrey Kolokoff - intends to file for re-election

Linda Diaz - we have no idea of her intentions

Julie Nelson - FILED

Fred Seraphin - we have no idea of his intentions

Diana Vizcaino - we have no idea of her intentions

JUDGE Edward Newman, we believe, is retiring, and an attorney has already filed to run in his Group 7 seat. That attorney is Marcus Bach Armas. He has been a member of the The Florida Bar for 12 years and he is listed as corporate counsel for the Miami Dolphins and Hard Rock Stadium. (https://bacharmas.com/).

So, loyal readers, which incumbent Judges deserve to face opposition in the next election?

CAPTAIN OUT .......

Captain4Justice@gmail.com