JUIDICAL RACE OUTCOMES

By Miriam Raftery

June 8, 2018 (San Diego) – Superior Court Judge Gary Kreep, who was censured for 29 counts of judicial misconduct, failed to win reelection outright, earning only 31.5% of the vote – far short needed for a majority.  He will enter a run-off race in November against Deputy District Attorney Matt Brower, also a judge advocate in the military, who earned 21.7% of the vote in the five-man race.

Brower is rated as qualified by the County Bar Association, which rated Kreep as lacking qualifications.

The State Commission on Judicial Performance found Kreep’s violations included evidence of bias in the courtroom against women and minorities, as well as conduct unbecoming of a judge.

In the County’s only other contested judicial race, the Hon. Herbert Exarhos won his race outright over challenger Vicki Rothman, a family law attorney. Exarhos has over 64% of the vote with all precincts counted and only late mail-in and provisional ballots remaining to be talled.