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Circuit Court Judicial Races Shaping Up

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By THOMAS W. KRAUSE

The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 3, 2008

TAMPA - With three judges retiring after this year, and two sitting judges facing challengers for their seats, it will be a busy election year for the courthouse.

Hillsborough Circuit Judges Frank A. Gomez, J. Rogers Padgett and Barbara Fleischer will retire in January. Circuit Judges J. Kevin Carey and Martha Cook face opposition.

Twenty-three other circuit judges and five county judges also faced re-election this year but have no opposition. Qualifying for the judicial election ended at noon Friday.

Qualifying also ended Friday for five county judges. No one qualified to run against any of them.

Circuit judges are elected to six-year terms. Voting will be held during the primary election on Aug. 26. Runoff elections, needed only when one candidate does not receive at least 50 percent of the vote, will be held Nov. 4.

The circuit judge position pays $145,080 per year.

Two candidates, Caroline J. Tesche and Jason D. Montes, have qualified to run for Gomez's soon-to-be-vacant seat.

Tesche, a criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor who owns her law firm, ran for judge in 2006 but was defeated by Bernard Silver.

Montes, a civil litigator with Luks, Santaniello, Perez, Petrillo & Gold, has been practicing law since 2002.

Two candidates will run for Fleischer's seat: Samantha Ward and Miriam Velez.

Ward, a veteran assistant public defender, ran for judge in 2006 but was defeated by Emily Peacock.

Velez, a former assistant state attorney, now works as a defense attorney for the firm Valkenburg & Velez.

Two candidates have qualified to fill Padgett's seat: Lisa D. Campbell and Linda Courtney Clark.

Campbell, a longtime assistant public defender, is now a partner at the general litigation firm Stewart & Campbell. She has practiced law since 1991.

Clark runs her own firm specializing in business, criminal and family law. She has practiced since 2001.

Sitting judges Carey and Cook face opposition from Catherine M. Catlin and Constance Daniels, respectively.

Carey, a family law judge, has been on the bench since 2002 and a member of the Florida Bar since 1983.

Catlin is a family law attorney who has practiced in Florida since 1987.

Cook, also a family law judge, has been on the bench since 2003 and has been a member of the Florida Bar since 1977.

Daniels runs her own firm, and practices personal injury, family, juvenile dependency and criminal law. She has been a state Bar member since 1995.

Reporter Josh Poltilove contributed to this report. Reporter Thomas W. Krause can be reached at (813) 259-7698 or tkrause @tampatrib.com.

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