Judicial Elections, Part 2

By Jesús "Jess" Valencia

Who Decides Who Gets To Be A Judge?

Occassionally, a sitting judge will retire at the end of his/her term and their seat will become open for election. Judges must run for re-election every six years but generally are unopposed. Because judicial elections are relatively few compared to the number of judicial appointments, the public rarely has an opportunity to decide who gets to be a judge.

I believe voters should take full advantage of this opportunity to be part of this very important democratic process of electing judges who are fair, independent and experienced. We are fortunate to live in a richly diverse community and need more judges who are equally diverse in qualifications and experience.