Longtime incumbent judge appears to have lost Family Court race

Tuesday's race for Monroe County Family Court included two incumbent judges among the four candidates for two seats. One judge won, based on unofficial results, while one didn't.

The victorious judge was the one with about three months of experience on the bench, while the one with 20 years of experience finished third, according to the results. Absentee vote counts will be totaled in the days to come.

The leading vote-getter was Democratic Judge Maria Cubillos Reed, who was appointed to the bench in late summer. She was the first Hispanic judge on family court.

Maria Cubillos Reed
Maria Cubillos Reed

Finishing second in the unofficial results was Republican Kristine Demo-Vazquez, who has maintained her own law practice, focusing on family court and matrimonial issues, for 18 years. This was her second bid for Family Court; she lost in last year's election.

In an interview before the election, she said she has been campaigning for almost two solid years because of last year's contest.

Kristine Demo-Vazquez
Kristine Demo-Vazquez

Dandrea Ruhlmann, a Republican, was seeking her third 10-year term. Not only did she have far more significant judicial experience than other candidates, her rankings from independent organizations were also positive.

For instance, she received the highest ratings from the Rochester Black Bar Association, a rating of "highly qualified" and "highly sensitive," the latter rating based on the sensitivity toward marginalized people and communities.

However, the unofficial results have Ruhlmann placing third, thus losing her judgeship if the counts hold. Democrat Maroun Ajaka, a lawyer, finished fourth.

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Unofficial results had Cubillos Reed with about 28 percent of the vote, Demo-Vazquez with about 25.5, Ruhlmann with about 24.1 and Ajaka with about 22.5.

Among the positions of Cubillos Reed are plans to try to better link Family Court clients to local human services.

"There are a lot of services in Monroe County," she told the Democrat and Chronicle. "There seems to be a disconnect between the courts and the service providers. ... I personally think that a judge needs to be more involved in the community because service providers come and go."

As a judge, Demo-Vazquez said, she would try to find ways to fairly expedite the family court process and to also ensure her decisions originated from a "trauma-informed" understanding. In recent years, professions ranging from health care to the criminal justice field have worked to recognize the impact of past and current trauma suffered by those with whom the systems intersect.

Family Court is often the least understood court in New York, but the four candidates all highlighted its importance in trying to better the lives of children and teens. If successful, family court programs can redirect youth who could otherwise be on a problematic path.

Family court has an extensive reach, with its jurisdiction including juvenile delinquency, allegations of child abuse, child custody and adoptions.

Also on Tuesday Rochester City Court judges Jack Elliott and Constance Patterson, both Democrats, were elected. Elliot was seeking his third term, while Patterson was appointed this year.

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Monroe County Court race: Dandrea Ruhlmann appears to have lost