A Superior Court judge facing trial on domestic violence charges now faces a challenge for his job from two lawyers who have filed election papers to run for his seat in the March primary.
Judge Geary Cortes' seat on the bench is one of four in the San Diego County Superior Court being contested in the March 5 primary.
He is being challenged by San Diego attorneys David Tiffany and Richard Whitney. Tiffany practices general civil litigation and Whitney does insurance defense.
Of the 128 seats on the local bench, 59 were up for election this year, but only four have contested races. Incumbent judges who were not challenged automatically win election to another six-year term.
Cortes, 50, is charged with punching and choking his wife on May 6. He faces a misdemeanor domestic violence charge. The case is being handled in Orange County to avoid any conflict for Cortes' colleagues on the San Diego bench.
Cortes has pleaded not guilty, but his travails have made him vulnerable to challenges.
"Typically, voters do not vote someone in when a judge is an incumbent," Tiffany said. "If you are going to run for a seat a judge holds, it generally has to be one where there is a likelihood voters may vote him out."
Cortes could not be reached for comment.
Four other seats have opened up because judges have decided not to seek re-election. They are Roy Cazares, Michael Harris, Elizabeth Riggs and Raymond Zvetina.
Running for Cazares' seat are Alvin Gomez, a Chula Vista civil business litigation attorney, and Michael T. Smyth, assistant to San Diego Police Chief David Bejarano. A third candidate, former Municipal Court Judge Luther Leeger, filed a declaration of intent to run but said on Wednesday he may change his mind.
The race for Harris' seat will pit Deputy District Attorney Dan Goldstein against Superior Court Commissioner Gary Bloch, who hears cases in the El Cajon courthouse.
A court commissioner is also running for another open seat on the bench. Jeffrey Bostwick, a commissioner in downtown San Diego, will face Olivia Gilliam, a deputy alternate public defender. The race is to fill Zvetina's seat.
Deputy District Attorney Peter Gallagher is the only person running for the seat being vacated by Riggs.
Superior Court judges are paid $133,000 per year.
Greg Moran: (619) 542-4586; greg.moran@uniontrib.com
