Four candidates vie for two Civil Court judicial seats
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By Rachel Vick
A group of prospective judges are eyeing two open spots on the Queens Civil Court bench in next month’s primary.
Karen Lin, Devian Daniels, Maria Temilda Gonzalez and Thomas Medardo Oliva have made it onto the ballot for the Democratic primary. There are no Republican candidates for the two vacant spots on the bench.
Lin, who currently works in Surrogate’s Court, has received the endorsement of the Queen County Democratic Party, led by Rep. Gregory Meeks. A number of elected officials, including State Senator John Liu, City Councilmember Sandra Ung and Assemblymember Catalina Cruz have also issued their endorsement for Lin.
If elected, Lin — a former Housing Court judge in the Bronx — would be one of a small group of Asian Americans on the bench in Queens, where they are among the least represented racial or ethnic groups in the judiciary in the borough.
“Representation matters, having people on the bench that are diverse matters, knowing the struggles of everyday people – it matters,” she said at her campaign announcement last month.
Hofstra Law School alum Oliva is the president of the Latino Lawyers Association of Queens County, and served on the board of the school’s Latino Law Student Association. He previously served as prosecutor in the Bronx District Attorney’s office.
“My mission is that people feel safe, with well-being, always protected from the hand of the law,” the lawyer, who currently lives in Little Neck, wrote in a post on Instagram.
Oliva has also received the support of the Queens County Democratic Party and endorsements from Meeks, Liu, Cruz and others.
Daniels ran in 2021 as an independent candidate, overcoming technical hurdles to get her name on the ballot and garnering renewed respect for the intense experience of court attendees.
The CUNY Law graduate told the Eagle she hopes voters “see who I am, my experience, my heart and the cases I've handled.”
“People come to court at their worst and our job is to not make it worse,” she said, “regardless of what the situation is you need to treat them with respect and dignity.”
She has worked in CLARO Court, as a City Council community legal counselor, as an arbitrator for the MTA and in private practice.
Gonzalez works in Jackson Heights and received her degree from the Cardozo School of Law.
A number of candidates supported by the Queens County Democratic Party have under performed in Civil Court races in recent years.
Last year, Michael Goldman was running to become the first openly gay judge in Queens and had support of the Democratic Party when he narrowly lost to now-Judge Soma Syed. In 2019, now-Judge Lumarie Maldonado Cruz beat out Wyatt Gibbons, who was endorsed by the Democratic Party, in a Civil Court race. Gibbons would later be nominated by the party and elected to serve as a Queens Supreme Court justice.
Early voting runs from June 18 to June 26 and Election Day is Tuesday, June 28.
Polling places will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on June 18, 19, 20, 25 and 26; from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on the 21 and 22, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on the 23 and 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the 24.
