The Independent View: NYC Voters Pick Women in Primary for All Six Brooklyn Judicial Seats

During the New York City Judicial Primary Elections September 12th, Brooklyn Democratic Voters seemed to base their Selections for Civil Court judge primarily on Gender.

With 12 Candidates vying for Six Civil Court Seats, Brooklynites nominated only Women to the Bench, paying little attention to Slates, Endorsements, Experience, or Judicial Screening Panel Approvals. Ignoring a bitter Feud playing out between the Kings County Democratic Committee and a Political Operative running his own Insurgent Slate, Voters chose a combination of Women from both Slates as well as a Female Judge running independently.

The trend did not go unnoticed and it has some speculating that in Low-Turnout Elections, Uninformed Voters simply chose Women because they may believe them to be more Trustworthy and suited for Judgeships.

For Countywide Civil Court, Voters were asked to choose up to Five of the 11 Candidates listed on the Ballot.
Three County-backed Female Judges, Connie Melendez with 15.3%, Robin Sheares with 13%, and Patria Frias-Colon with 10.6%, Sandra Roper with 9.9% running as part of a Six-Person Judicial Slate, and Ellen Edwards who ran independently with 9.8%, drew enough of the vote to win.

Many in Brooklyn’s Legal Community expressed dismay that a County-Endorsed incumbent, Frederick Arriaga, who finished Sixth, will be Unseated after 10 years on the Bench, while Candidates who Refused to submit to Judicial Screening Panels or were deemed “Unqualified” by the Panels, were victorious. “It’s upsetting that someone would challenge a competent, qualified, sitting judge -- someone who had a good reputation on the bench. Are you trying to make people hire consultants? What is the point of primarying someone like that?” asked former City Council Member Lew Fidler, who has close Ties to the County Party.

Howard Graubard, a Lawyer Active in Democratic Politics, said the Public would not be served if Sitting Judges were forced to become Political. “When I first came to Brooklyn in the 1980s -- whether a judge was elected by reformers or insurgents -- everyone left alone the incumbent judge. It was frowned upon in the political and legal community. it was something you just didn’t do,” he said. “The fact that Arriaga is not going to be on the bench in January, it’s a sin.”

In addition to the Democratic Party’s Judicial Screening Panel, which has had its own Controversies, New York City and Brooklyn Bar Associations have created their Own Peer-Review Screening Committees which determine if Candidates are “highly qualified,” “qualified,” or “not qualified.” A Fourth Judiciary Screening is conducted by the State’s Office of Court Administration.

The Trend held up in the Primary Election for Brooklyn’s Civil Court District 6, Elena Baron, a Woman deemed Unqualified by at least Three Judicial Screening Panels, won with 39.3% of the vote, over Two Panel-Approved Male Judges.

Speculating is this year’s pitifully Low Voter Turnout derailed efforts to Influence Votes.

While County-Endorsed Candidates often have a significant advantage, Names play an important role in lesser-known Elections like Judicial races, and it is not uncommon for Candidates to be selected based on apparent Race, Ethnicity, or Gender, according to those who closely follow Elections, including for Judicial Seats. “When voters don’t have a lot of information, many default to women, believing -- whether correctly or not -- that women are outside the dominant power structure,” says Election Lawyer Sarah Steiner.

This may be aided by the fact that more Women vote than Men, and Low Voter Turnout, just 14%t of New York Democrats voted in the Mayoral Primary happening the same day as the other Primary Elections. Some Voters don’t even fill in any Choices for Down-Ballot Races like Judicial Seats due to a lack of familiarity with the Candidates.

Connie Melendez’s Latino name have also helped her draw the overwhelming Majority in the Countywide Race, since the Latino base was likely energized by the Candidacy of Acting District Attorney Eric Gonzalez, according to those familiar with Brooklyn’s Judiciary. Gonzalez Won his Primary overwhelmingly and will no longer be Acting DA come January.

One thing Voters apparently did not pay heed to was the erupted between a weakened Democratic Machine and the Legitimacy of the Party’s Candidate Selection Process.

A Democratic Party Spokesperson said that the Screening system was set up Decades ago due to a push from Government Reformers to address rampant Corruption within Brooklyn’s Court system. The Party only chooses to Endorse Candidates that have been Approved by all Four Judicial Screening systems.