Florida Bar News

Dozens of trial court races set for August primary

Forty plus circuit and county court races will go to voters on the August 18 primary ballot. More than 250 circuit and county judge seats were uncontested.

Filing for Florida’s judicial offices closed on April 24. Circuit court judges file with the Secretary of State while county court candidates file with their local supervisors of elections.

The trial court contests will appear on the August primary ballot and any runoffs will be resolved in the general election.

By circuit, here are the contested and uncontested races:

• In the First Circuit, Stephanie Sansing White was elected unopposed as were Judges Scott Duncan, John Ryan Love, Stephen Pitre, John F. Simon, Jr., Jennie Kinsey, Jonathan Vincent Schlechter, and David L. Stevens.

• In the Second Circuit, In Group 7, Judge Jason Jones is being challenged by Stephanie A. Cager. In Group 13, Judge J. Lee Marsh is being challenged by Rashad Green. Elected unopposed were Judges Tiffany Baker and Stephen S. Everett.

• In the Third Circuit, Judge Mark E. Feagle was elected unopposed as was John Weed.

• In the Fourth Circuit, there were no contested races, and Judges Larry E. Hutton, Jr., James H. Daniel, Lester Bernard Bass, Michael Kalil, Lance M. Day, Meredith Charbula, Tatiana Radi Salvador, Michael "Mike" Sharrit, Virginia Norton, and Waddell Wallace were elected without opposition.

• In the Fifth Circuit, in Group 27, Nicole M. Morris and Lisa Yeager will face off. Judges Brian Welke, Mary P. Hatcher, R. Gregg Jerald, Danny Ray Mosley, Brad King, Timothy T. McCourt, Lisa Diane Herndon, Stacy M. Youmans, Charles L. W. Helm, and James R. Baxley were elected without opposition.

• In the Sixth Circuit, in Group 39, Elizabeth "Liz" Constantine will face Stefen Diskey. In Group 44, Oxalis B. Garcia will face Elizabeth "Liz" Jack. Judges Susan St. John, Alicia Polk, Mary Morrissey Handsel, Pamela A. M. Campbell, Susan G. Barthle, Kimberly Sharpe Byrd, Fred Pollack, Phil Matthey, Shawn Crane, Linda H. Babb, Evan Frayman, Ben Thomas, Mark F. Robens, Christopher M. LaBruzzo, and Aaron Weston Hubbard were elected without opposition.

•  In the Seventh Circuit, in Group 26, Lawrence "Larry" Avallone III, Carleen Leffler, and Jeanne Stratis will square off. Judges Lauren P. Blocker, Mike Orfinger, Robert W. Pickens III, Chris Miller, Christopher S. Ferebee, Joan May Anthony, Karen Adams Foxman, Howard M. Maltz, Kathy Weston, Sandra Christine Upchurch, David S. Wainer III, and Alicia Regina Washington were elected without opposition.

• In the Eighth Circuit, Judges Craig C. DeThomasis, Phillip Andrew Pena, and Kristine Van Vorst were returned to office unopposed. Adam J. Lee also won a seat unopposed.

• In the Ninth Circuit, in Group 1, incumbent Judge Mikaela Nix is being challenged by Temika Hampton-Johnson and Charles Hart. In Group 2, Christina Arguelles will face Christie Lou Mitchell. In Group 31, Steve Kerestes will face Kamilah Perry. Returned to office without opposition were Judges Chad K. Alvaro, Christine Arendas, Denise Kim Beamer, Tiffany Marie Faddis, Heather Higbee, Ginger Miranda, Christy C. Collins, Wayne Wooten, Brian S. Sandor, Diego Madrigal, Kevin B. Weiss, Deb Barra, Heather Pinder Rodriguez, Mike Kraynick, Barbara Leach, Keith Carsten, Vincent Falcone, Alicia L. Latimore, and Hal C. Epperson, Jr.

• In the 10th Circuit, in Group 23, Lakeisha Latoya Babers will face Chris P. Spath. In Group 24, Andrea DeMichael will face Candice Dixon. Judges Michelle Oakes Pincket, Sharon M. Franklin, John C. Waters, Cassandra Larkin Denmark, Gerald P. Hill II, and Jalal A. Harb were unopposed.

• In the 11th Circuit, in Group 5, Alex Annunziato, Arthur LeMar "Marty" McNeil, and Monica Segura will face off. In Group 35, Renee Gordon will face Cristobal David Padron. In Group 67, incumbent Judge Mavel Ruiz is being challenged by Destiny Alvarez. In Group 69, Rita Maria Baez, Yaneth Del Carmen Baez, and Bonita Jones-Peabody will face off. In Group 76, incumbent Judge Spencer Eig is being challenged by Yenly Dominguez. Retaining their seats unopposed were Judges Ivonne Cuesta, Jorge E. Cueto, Daryl Evan Trawick, Migna Sanchez-Llorens, Yvonne Colodny, Tanya Jeanette Brinkley, Laura Anne Stuzin, Peter R. Lopez, Alberto Milian, Christine Hernandez, Spencer Multack, Michelle Alvarez Barakat, Michelle Delancy, Stacy Daryl Glick, Dawn Veronica Denaro, Cristina M. Miranda, Abby Cynamon, Joe Perkins, Carmen Cabarga, Laura Gonzalez-Marques, Denise Martinez-Scanziani, Veronica A. Diaz, Reemberto Diaz, Carlos M. Guzman¸ Carlos H. Gamez, Beatrice "Betty" Butchko Sanchez, and Andrea Ricker Wolfson.

• In the 12th Circuit, Judges Ryan Felix, Stephen M. Walker, Charles Sniffen, and Kevin Bruning faced no opposition as did newcomers Bryan S. Kessler and Natalya Evans.

• In the 13th Circuit, Group 7, Luis "Louie" Aguila will face Sara Peacock. In Group 13, Nina McGucken Alvarez will face Jim Wimsatt. Elected without opposition were G. Gregory Green, Dawn Myers, Leland Ann Baldwin, and Jessica Costello and Judges Jeffrey Rich, Michael Williams, Kelly Ayers, Michael J. Hooi, Lindsay Alvarez, Lawrence M. Lefler, Michael J. Scionti, Laura E. Ward, Lisa D. Campbell, J. Logan Murphy, Joseph Tompkins, Nick Nazaretian, Helene Daniel, Robert A. Bauman, Richard H. Martin, Michelle Sisco, Wendy Joy DePaul, Christopher Carmel Sabella, and Thomas N. Palermo.

• In the 14th Circuit, Judges James J. Goodman, Jr., and Dustin Stephenson were returned to office unopposed.

• In the 15th Circuit, Judges James Sherman, Rosemarie Scher, G. Joseph Curley, James Edward Nutt, Carolyn Bell, Glenn D. Kelley, Jaimie Goodman, Samantha Schosberg Feuer, Karen M. Miller, and Charles E. Burton were returned to office unopposed.

• In the 16th Circuit, Mark Wilson faced no opposition nor did Judges James Morgan III and Bonnie Jean Helms.

• In the 17th Circuit, Group 52, David Andrew Fry, Tamar Hamilton, and Kathleen O'Brien "Katie" Hinkle will face off. Judges Bernard Isaac "Bernie" Bober, Michael J. Orlando, Jeffrey R. Levenson, George Odom, Jr., Stacey Schulman, N. Hunter Davis, John Bowman, Frank David Ledee, Kevin P. Tynan, Catalina M. Avalos, Andrew L. "Andy" Siegel, Christopher Wigand, Peter Holden, Martin J. Bidwill, and Marlon Jay Weiss were unopposed.

• In the 18th Circuit, Group 4, Judge Robert Alan Segal is being challenged by Larry Freeman. Group 13 will see a contest between Andrea Fant, George Cole Gaspard, and Angela Sturm. Judges Melanie Chase, Mark E. Herr, Curt Jacobus, Tesha Scolaro Ballou, Steve Henderson, Susan Stacy, Donna M. Goerner, Laura Moody, and Samuel Bookhardt III drew no opposition.

• In the 19th Circuit, Judges Michael C. Heisey, Michael Linn, Steven J. Levin, Michael David Porter, Laurie Buchanan, Victoria L. Griffin, Lillian B. Ewen, Cynthia L. Cox, and Elizabeth Ann Metzger were unopposed.

• In the 20th Circuit, Group 19, Judge James Stewart is being challenged by Vera Bergermann. In Group 27, Judge Amanda Levy-Reis is being challenged by Ryan Kuhl. Judges Trent Reichling, Andrew Marcus, Amy Hawthorne, Chris Brown, Rachael Spring Loukonen, Michael T. McHugh, and Darrell Hill drew no opposition.

Information on county judge races was compiled by visiting county supervisor of election websites and News staff internet searches as incumbent judges are not identified on individual supervisor of elections’ websites. It’s possible not all the websites were up to date. If any corrections are needed, please email [email protected].

Here are the filings as compiled from the supervisors of elections websites:

• Alachua County: Group 5, Eric Atria faces Martin AuBroncee

• Bay County: In Group 1, Timothy Campbell was unopposed. In Group 4, Tracy A. Smith was unopposed.

• Bradford County: No county judge races.

• Brevard County: In Group 3, incumbent Michelle Vitt-Baker is being challenged by Rodney Antonio Edwards and Timi DeAnn Tucker.

• Broward County: In Group 11, Debi Gheorge Alten and Veronica N. Walker qualified. In Group 18, Ellen A. Feld is unopposed. In Group 22, Allison Gillman is unopposed. In Group 27 Phoebee R. Francios is unopposed. In Group 31, Michelle McCaul Ricca is unopposed.

• Citrus County: No county court judge races.

• Clay County: No county court judge races.

• Collier County: In Group 3, Deborah Cunningham is the only candidate to qualify. In Group 4, Robert Brown is the only candidate to qualify. In Group 5, Janeice Martin is the only candidate to qualify.

• Duval County: In Group 1, Matt Lufrano and Latoya Williams Shelton qualified. In Group 6, Rhonda Peoples-Waters qualified. In Group 13, Melina Buncome, Marquita H. Green and Octavius A. Holliday, Jr., qualified. In Group 14, Gary Paul Flower is unopposed. In Group 16, James G. Nealis is unopposed.

• Escambia County: In Group 2, Charles Philip Young is unopposed.

• Flagler County: No county judge races.

• Hendry County: Jill Cabai, Robert Ostrov, and Antoinette Peck qualified.

• Hillsborough County: In Group 7, Monique Scott is unopposed. In Group 9, Jeremy Randall Riner is unopposed. In Group 13, Jennifer P. Johnson is unopposed. In Group 16, Margaret Rebecca Taylor is unopposed. In Group 17, Travis Coy is unopposed. In Group 18, Matthew L. Felix is unopposed. In Group 20, Christopher E. Brown is unopposed. In Group 24, Colleen O’Brien is unopposed. In Group 25, Branden Henderson is unopposed.

• Holmes County: No county judge races.

• Indian River County: No county judge races.

• Lake County: In Group 3, Carla R. Pepperman is unopposed.

• Lee County: In Group 5, Michael Colombo and incumbent Javier Pacheco qualified. In Group 6, Josephine M. Gagliardi is unopposed.

• Leon County: In Group 5, Nina Ashenafi-Richardson is unopposed.

• Liberty County: In Group 1, Judge Christopher Bufano is being challenged by Elijah Lane Bentley and Laura Wahlquist Parish.

• Manatee County: In Group 1, Renee Inman is unopposed. In Group 2, Heather Doyle is unopposed. In Group 4, Melissa Gould is unopposed.

• Marion County: No county court judge races.

• Martin County: In Group 2, Jennifer Alexandra Alcorta Waters qualified.

• Miami-Dade County: In Group 5, Ritamaria Cuervo is unopposed. In Group 8, Kevin Hellmann is unopposed. In Group 9, Joanne Marie Hernandez is unopposed. In Group 16, Donald James “D.J.” Cannava, Jr., is unopposed. In Group 17, Raul A. Cuervo is unopposed. In Group 20, Stephanie R. Silver is unopposed. In Group 25, Maribel Diaz and Luis Perez-Medina qualified. In Group 30, Betty Capote-Erben is unopposed. In Group 34, Natalie Moore is unopposed. In Group 36, Victoria Ferrer is unopposed. In Group 38, Gordon Charles Murray, Sr., is unopposed.

• Monroe County: In Group 2, Kevin McCarthy and David Van Loon qualified.

• Okaloosa County: In Group 2, Angela Mason is unopposed. In Group 3, John Kenneth Reed is unopposed.

• Orange County: In Group 2, Jeremy Beasley is unopposed. In Group 3, Ayana Barrow is unopposed. In Group 5, Asima Azam and Kafi D. Kennedy qualified. In Group 7, Jeanette D. Bigney is unopposed. In Group 10, Tina Caraballo is unopposed. In Group 15, Brian F. Duckworth is unopposed. In Group 16, Carly Wish is unopposed. In Group 17, Cherish Adams and Joy Goodyear qualified. In Group 19, Chelsea Simmons and Mark A. Skipper qualified. In Group 20, Heather Guarch is unopposed. In Group 21, Judi Garabo Hayes and Mark S. Miller qualified. In Group 22, Andrew A. Bain is unopposed.

• Palm Beach County: In Group 10, Santo DiGangi is unopposed. In Group 12, Jacob M. Noble and Schnelle Tonge qualified. In Group 14, Mary Katherine Mullinax is unopposed. In Group 3, Reginald R. Corlew is unopposed.

• Pasco County: In Group 5, Joseph F. Justice is unopposed.

• Pinellas County: In Group 3, Edwin B. Jagger is unopposed. In Group 10, Nick Fiorentino and Zachariah Wade qualified. In Group 14, Robert G. Dittmer is unopposed. In Group 15, John Carassas is unopposed.

• Polk County: In Group 6, Anne Gibson and Cheyenne Whitfield qualified. In Group 7, David Stamey is unopposed. In Group 9, Hope M. Pattey is unopposed.

• Santa Rosa County: In Group 2, Tony Giraud is unopposed.

• Sarasota County: In Group 4, Shannon Geneva Hankin is unopposed.

• Seminole County: In Group 3, Sylvia Grunor and Nathan A. Skop qualified. In Group 6, Alena Chaban, Wayne Culver, and Erik Swenk qualified.

• St. Johns County: No county judge races.

• St. Lucie County: In Group 2, Jeffrey Walton Hendriks is unopposed. In Group 4, Lauren Katheryn Sweet is unopposed.

• Suwannee County: No county judge elections.

• Volusia County: In Group 1, Joseph LeDonne is unopposed. In Group 3, David A. Cromartie is unopposed. In Group 6, Michele Simonson is unopposed. In Group 7, David H. Foxman is unopposed. In Group 10, Angela A. Dempsey is unopposed.

• Wakulla County: No county judge election.

• Walton County: In Group 1, Kelvin Wells is unopposed.

• Washington County: No county court judge races.