Arizona judicial elections, 2012 - Superior Courts

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Judicial Elections
Judicial elections, 2012
Judicial election dates

The Arizona judicial elections consisted of a primary on August 28 and general election on November 6, 2012.^[1][2][3]

Superior Court retention elections[edit]

Maricopa County Superior Court[edit]

Judge	Incumbency	Retention vote	Retention Vote %
Blakey IIA. Craig Blakey II   A	Yes	388,964	66.91%A
KleinAndrew Klein   A	Yes	420,068	72.84%A
CohenBruce Cohen   A	Yes	395,960	67.74%A
HarrisonCari A. Harrison   A	Yes	406,969	70.63%A
CouryChristopher A. Coury   A	Yes	413,698	71.51%A
WhittenChristopher Whitten   A	Yes	389,246	69.46%A
McNallyColleen McNally   A	Yes	389,571	67.83%A
ContesConnie Contes   A	Yes	356,879	60.47%A
McClennenCrane McClennen   A	Yes	390,560	68.50%A
KileyDaniel Kiley   A	Yes	415,005	72.42%A
GassDavid Gass   A	Yes	376,712	65.65%A
UdallDavid K. Udall   A	Yes	423,139	72.90%A
PalmerDavid Palmer (Arizona)   A	Yes	407,830	71.33%A
GerlachDouglas Gerlach   A	Yes	393,659	68.59%A
Ballinger, Jr.Eddward Ballinger, Jr.   A	Yes	405,308	69.26%A
DavisGlenn Davis (Arizona)   A	Yes	395,365	68.22%A
AbramsHelene Abrams   A	Yes	414,114	69.45%A
BeeneJames Beene   A	Yes	415,827	71.48%A
GarciaJeanne Garcia   A	Yes	367,049	62.1%A
Gentry-LewisJo Lynn Gentry-Lewis   A	Yes	388,887	67.46%A
DitsworthJohn Ditsworth   A	Yes	352,543	60.79%A
HannahJohn Hannah   A	Yes	323,611	55.54%A
PadillaJose Padilla (Arizona)   A	Yes	325,157	55.07%A
MullinsKaren Mullins   A	Yes	390,441	68.06%A
HoffmanKristin C. Hoffman   A	Yes	399,777	69.03%A
MilesLinda H. Miles   A	Yes	410,117	71.66%A
FloresLisa Flores   A	Yes	350,200	58.99%A
MahoneyMargaret R. Mahoney   A	Yes	400,315	69.42%A
GordonMichael Gordon   A	Yes	391,059	67.92%A
KempMichael Kemp   A	Yes	401,584	69.88%A
McVeyMichael R. McVey   A	Yes	396,409	69.3%A
GatesPamela Gates   A	Yes	413,712	71.19%A
McMurdiePaul McMurdie   A	Yes	405,371	70.75%A
ThompsonPeter Thompson   A	Yes	409,810	72.58%A
MilesRobert Miles (Arizona)   A	Yes	410,117	71.66%A
OberbilligRobert Oberbillig   A	Yes	390,596	68.29%A
Steinle, IIIRoland J. Steinle, III   A	Yes	375,314	65.93%A
McCoyScott McCoy (Arizona)   A	Yes	402,539	70.4%A
StephensSherry K. Stephens   A	Yes	419,994	73.22%A
BrnovichSusan Brnovich   A	Yes	424,158	72.09%A
SandersTeresa A. Sanders   A	Yes	426,546	73.92%A
LeClaireThomas L. LeClaire   A	Yes	345,835	59.98%A
RyanTimothy J. Ryan   A	Yes	377,385	65.91%A

Pima County Superior Court[edit]

Judge	Incumbency	Retention vote	Retention Vote %
CornelioCarmine Cornelio   A	Yes	143,356	70.65%A
StaringChristopher P. Staring   A	Yes	157,871	77.86%A
BerniniDeborah Bernini   A	Yes	163,310	79.42%A
AragonGus Aragon   A	Yes	151,562	76.80%A
HantmanHoward Hantman   A	Yes	148,030	72.81%A
KearneyJan E. Kearney   A	Yes	162,580	79.34%A
EikleberryJane L. Eikleberry   A	Yes	161,426	78.96%A
AdamKaren Adam   A	Yes	161,436	79.16%A
LeeKenneth Lee (Arizona)   A	Yes	161,519	78.69%A
BrysonKyle A. Bryson   A	Yes	157,889	77.23%A
MillerLeslie Miller   A	Yes	144,885	69.78%A
MillerMichael O. Miller   A	Yes	160,201	79.11%A
TangPaul E. Tang   A	Yes	153,458	75.39%A
GordonRichard Gordon (Arizona)   A	Yes	161,385	79.02%A
FieldsRichard S. Fields   A	Yes	161,504	79.27%A
RashScott Rash   A	Yes	157,558	77.89%A
VillarrealStephen C. Villarreal   A	Yes	159,235	77.20%A

Superior Court popular elections[edit]

Cochise County Superior Court[edit]

Candidate	Incumbency	Party	Division	Primary Vote	Election Vote
ConlogueJames Conlogue   A	Yes	Democratic	Division V	99.48%A	98.70%   A
ElledgeKarl D. Elledge   A	No	Republican	Division IV	74.99%A	98.63%   A
ContrerasRoger H. Contreras	No	Republican	Division IV	24.78%

Coconino County Superior Court[edit]

Candidate	Incumbency	Party	Division	Primary Vote	Election Vote
NicholsCathleen Nichols   A	No	Democratic	Division V		54.77%   A
RobbinsGary Robbins	No	Republican	Division V		44.33%   D
MoranMark Moran   A	Yes	Democratic	Division III		99.17%   A

Gila County Superior Court[edit]

Candidate	Incumbency	Party	Division	Primary Vote	Election Vote
CahillPeter J. Cahill   A	Yes	Democratic	Division I		98.92%   A

Mohave County Superior Court[edit]

Candidate	Incumbency	Party	Division	Primary Vote	Election Vote
WilliamsRick Williams (Arizona)   A	Yes	Republican	Division V		99.03%   A

Navajo County Superior Court[edit]

Candidate	Incumbency	Party	Division	Primary Vote	Election Vote
TaylorD. Shawn Taylor	No	Republican	Division II	98.32%A	46.46%   D
CoronadoEduardo Coronado	No	Democratic	Division III	29.34%
BrownF. Morgan Brown	No	Democratic	Division II	46.86%
LambJohn Lamb   A	Yes	Democratic	Division III	70.5%A	99.01%   A
RuechelMichala M. Ruechel   A	Yes	Democratic	Division IV	99.29%A	98.98%   A
HigginsRobert James Higgins   A	Yes	Democratic	Division II	50.82%A	53.18%   A

Santa Cruz County Superior Court[edit]

Candidate	Incumbency	Party	Division	Primary Vote	Election Vote
Montoya-PaezAnna M. Montoya-Paez   A	Yes	Democratic	Division II		98.01%   A

Yavapai County Superior Court[edit]

Candidate	Incumbency	Party	Division	Primary Vote	Election Vote
YoungAnna Young   A	Yes	Republican	Division 6		99.55%   A
CampbellJennifer B. Campbell   A	Yes	Republican	Division II		99.53%   A
JonesKenton Jones   A	Yes		Division One		99.43%   A
BluffMichael Bluff   A	Yes	Republican	Division VII		99.48%   A

Yuma County Superior Court[edit]

Candidate	Incumbency	Party	Division	Primary Vote	Election Vote
HawsDavid M. Haws	Yes	Republican	Division 4		49.27%   D
ClarkJim Clark   A	No	Democratic	Division IV		50.54%   A
CruzMaria Elena Cruz   A	Yes	Democratic	Division VI		98.87%   A
ReevesMark Wayne Reeves   A	Yes	Democratic	Division I		98.86%   A

In the News[edit]

Arizona election recap, 2012[edit]

The outcome this year's general election boded well for Arizona supreme and appellate court judges. Justice John Pelander was retained to a second term on the Arizona Supreme Court, and nine of nine appeals court judges were retained to another six-year term.

While retentions for state's higher courts remained relatively calm, two superior court races in Yuma County and Coconino County drew the public's eye as results trickled in.

• Yuma County Superior Court, Division 4

Incumbent Judge David M. Haws lost his seat on the Yuma County Superior Court to opponent Jim Clark. Judge Haws was appointed to the court by Governor Jan Brewer earlier this year to replace Andrew W. Gould who moved to the Court of Appeals and challenger Jim Clark is a civil litigator who has practiced law in Yuma County for 38 years.

After a delay in results, the Yuma County Elections office reported that Clark defeated Haws by 366 votes.^[4][5]

• Coconino County Superior Court, Division 5

In a race originally thought to be unopposed, Cathleen Nichols found herself in a heated race, battling for votes. After incumbent Judge Joseph Lodge was declared unable to appear on the ballot, Nichols expected to be the only candidate in this year's general election. The race changed when attorney Gary Robbins entered as a write-in candidate, accusing Nichols of using "legal shenanigans" to have Judge Lodge removed from the ballot. Nichols in turn replied with attacking Robbins' experience saying, "There is no question that Gary is not qualified to do this job."^[6]

Now that unofficial results are in we have the outcome of this battle. Cathleen Nichols garnered 54.77 percent of the vote, defeating Gary Robbins, who received 44.33 percent of the vote. Nichols began her term in early January 2013.

Arizona candidates gearing up for late month primary[edit]

As featured in JP Election Brief: August primaries settling judicial races on August 16, 2012.

As Arizona's August 28 primary draws nearer, superior court judicial races are shaping up. Two positions on the Navajo County Superior Court are the subject of contested races.

Division II

Incumbent Judge Robert James Higgins, a Democrat, was appointed to the Division II seat by Governor Jan Brewer in February of 2012. He earned his B.A. and his J.D. from Santa Clara University, and also holds a master's degree in English from Arizona State University. Before his appointment to the bench, Judge Higgins practiced law for 18 years in Navajo County, working for three years as a Deputy County Attorney and for 15 years in private practice. As a judge, he has implemented changes in the county's Drug Court, and has also introduced a program called Early Resolution Court, which aims to process criminal cases quickly in an effort to unclog the justice system and keep it running smoothly.^[7]

F. Morgan Brown, a Democratic challenger and lifelong Arizona resident, earned his B.A. and his J.D. from Arizona State University, and has practiced at the same firm since he graduated from law school in 1996.^[8] Brown hopes to increase the use of technology in the courtroom by allowing for electronic filing of documents, and is interested in introducing mediation or arbitration to help civil cases move more quickly through the system.^[9]

D. Shawn Taylor, a Republican challenger, earned his B.A. from Arizona State University and his J.D. from the University of Wyoming College of Law.^[10] Taylor has worked as a clerk for the U.S. Attorney's Office, as Deputy Navajo County Attorney, as Prosecutor for Springerville, Arizona, and in private practice. He has experience in both criminal law and family law.^[11]

Division III

Incumbent Judge John Lamb, a Democrat, has been the Division III judge for the past seven years, and previously served 10 years as justice of the peace. He earned his undergraduate degree at Stanford University and his J.D. from Northwestern University.^[12]

Eduardo Coronado is a Democrat who earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Arizona and his J.D. from the University of Akron School of Law. Coronado has experience in both civil and criminal law, and has served as the Town Attorney for Springerville, Arizona.^[12] The son of migrant farm workers who worked as a migrant farm worker himself, Coronado entered the legal profession because of his desire to protect the rights of the less fortunate.^[13]

Arizona Supreme Court steps into Superior Court race[edit]

As featured in JP Election Brief: An indictment, legal challenges, and First Amendment questions on July 19, 2012.

The Arizona Supreme Court has ruled that Judge Joseph Lodge's name will not appear on the ballot in the state's primary election.^[14]

Judge Lodge collected 1,100 signatures in support of his nomination to the Coconino County Superior Court, more than twice the number he was required to obtain. However, on June 19,^[15] Yavapai County Judge Michael Bluff issued a decision stating that those signatures were invalid because Lodge failed to indicate to signers which of the division seats on the court he was seeking.^[16] Arizona Supreme Court Chief Justice Rebecca White Berch agreed with Judge Bluff's assessment and ordered that Judge Lodge be kept off the ballot.^[14]

At the time of his election, Judge Lodge served as the Division 5 judge on the Coconino County Superior Court, a position to which he was appointed in 2010. He expected to face Cathleen Nichols in the August 28 primary election, but following the state Supreme Court's ruling, Nichols will now appear on the ballot as the only candidate for the Division 5 judgeship.^[15]

Yuma County Superior Court race takes shape[edit]

As featured in JP Election Brief: Results from North Carolina and West Virginia (and more!) on May 10, 2012.

Recent events in Arizona have implications for two seats on the Yuma County Superior Court.

Judge David M. Haws, who was appointed by Governor Jan Brewer to the Division IV position on the Yuma County Superior Court in February, will be sworn in to his position on Friday, May 11, 2012.^[17] To keep his recently attained place on the court, Judge Haws must run for election in the Arizona primary on August 28. Judge Haws has announced that he does intend to compete in the primary and will campaign to retain his current position.^[18]

Judge Haws will face Yuma attorney Jim Clark in the primary election. Clark, who has practiced law in Yuma County for nearly his entire 38-year legal career, announced his candidacy for Division IV judge on the Yuma County Superior Court in March. During his career, Clark has worked as a Yuma County prosecutor and in private practice.^[19]

In addition to the developments in the Division IV race, incumbent Judge Maria Elena Cruz has filed her candidacy for re-election to her position as Division VI judge on the Yuma County Superior Court.^[20]

Appellate courts[edit]

To learn more about the appellate court retention elections, visit: Arizona judicial elections, 2012.

See also[edit]

• Arizona judicial elections

External links[edit]

• The Weekly Bulletin, "Plenty of local elections on tap in 2012," January 11, 2012

Footnotes[edit]

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