More than two dozen judges were up for re-election this year in Broward County, but voters can be forgiven if they were unaware of it, considering the overwhelming majority ran unopposed and did not appear on Tuesday’s primary ballot.
Of the 27 judges seeking re-election, only three drew opponents this year: County Court Judge Kathleen McHugh and Circuit Court Judges Carol-Lisa Phillips and Stefanie Moon. With most votes counted, all three appeared to easily defeat their challengers.
Judicial races are often among the most difficult for voters to weigh, largely because the rules limit how candidates can criticize each other and outright prohibit partisan appeals. Candidates are left to discuss their personal histories and commitments to civic causes, though sometimes an incumbent’s conduct on the bench can become a campaign issue.
Defense lawyer Johnny Weekes, ex-husband of former Circuit Judge Mariya Weekes, tried to do that in his campaign to unseat Moon, who was first elected six years ago. Weekes criticized Moon’s record of reversals by appeals courts as well as her treatment of the lawyers who appear before her.
Moon’s supporters painted her as professional and reliable, leaving the outcome of the race up to the campaign that did a better job communicating its message to the primary voting electorate. Moon had a 47,000 vote lead with 98% of ballots counted.
For Phillips, the campaign came as something of a surprise. Phillips is highly regarded in the county and has been floated as a candidate for chief administrative judge when Jack Tuter’s term ends next year.
Her opponent, Christina Grace Arguelles, is an Orange County resident who never lived or worked in Broward County and barely campaigned. Arguelles candidacy was seen by Phillips’ supporters as a back-door way of forcing the judge to recuse herself from a civil case litigated by Arguelles’ parents, who are also attorneys.
Phillips complied with the rules and recused herself from the case. Late Tuesday, she led by more than 74,000 votes with 98% counted.
McHugh was surprised to learn she was being challenged for re-election by civil lawyer Scott R. Shapiro, who said in an interview with the Sun Sentinel editorial board that he wanted to serve on the civil court bench but did not target the incumbent for opposition. McHugh’s lead was over 79,000 votes.
Other court races in Broward and Palm Beach did not feature incumbents. In races with three or more candidates, the top two vote-getters will face each other in a November runoff unless one candidate gets more than 50% of the vote. A first-place primary win does not guarantee victory in November, when voter turnout is significantly higher.
In races with no incumbent, Lourdes Casanova, Douglas Leifert and Jean Marie Middleton ran to replace retiring Judge Ted Booras in Palm Beach’s only county court race. Casanova and Middleton appeared to be headed for a runoff, with neither cracking more than 40% of the vote.
In Broward County, Alex Arreaza, Woody Clermont and Samuel Ford Stark competed to replace retiring County Court Judge Robert Diaz. Stark had a double-digit lead early in the counting, but it was unclear whether his support would hold strong enough to avoid a runoff. He was just under 50% as of 9 p.m., with just 2% of ballots remaining to be counted. Clermont was a distant second with 26% of the vote.
Corey Brian Freidman was holding a slight lead against Tamar Hamilton to replace retiring County Court Judge Robert Lee, with the race still too close to call.
Kathleen Elaine Angione was poised to defeat Joseph Zager in the race to replace County Court Judge Louis Schiff by a large margin.
And Childnet founder Emilio Benitez was trailing animal rights lawyer Lauren Peffer by more than 8,600 votes in the race to succeed County Court Judge Terri Ann Miller.
Rafael Olmeda can be reached at rolmeda@sunsentinel.com or 954-356-4457.
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