In a private preference poll, members of the Austin Bar rated the candidates in Travis County’s three contested judicial elections.
The three candidates for the 353rd Judicial District judgeship, the two candidates for Travis County District Attorney, and the three candidates for Justice of the Peace Precinct 5 will appear on the ballot in the March primary.
The purpose of the preference poll is to give the general public an opportunity to see how local attorneys evaluate their colleagues in the legal community.
The results are strictly the opinions of the individual attorneys participating in the poll and are not intended as an endorsement of any candidate by the Austin Bar Association or any affiliated organization.
For each race, Austin Bar members were asked to indicate which candidate they believed was best qualified to serve in the position for which he or she was running. Members cast their votes through BallotBox, an online polling system. They did not have to cast a vote in every race. Of the 2,663 eligible voters, 482, or 18.1 percent, participated in the poll.
The results are as follows:
District Judge, 353rd Judicial District:
Susana Castillo – 88 votes
Madeleine Connor – 27 votes
Sherine Thomas – 299 votes
Not answered – 68 votes
District Attorney:
José Garza – 179 votes
Jeremy Sylestine – 201 votes
Not answered – 102 votes
Justice of the Peace, Precinct 5:
Ornela DeSeta – 58 votes
Tanisa Jeffers – 107 votes
Rick “Rico” Olivo – 108 votes
Not answered – 209 votes
The Austin Bar Association is a nonprofit, voluntary association working to enhance the legal profession, administration of justice, and the community through education, networking, and public service. The Bar represents approximately 3,800 legal professionals in the Austin area.