Quick Take
With 99% of county ballots counted with Friday's update, immigration attorney Alisa Thomas has defeated criminal defense attorney Bryan Hackett in the race for an open seat on the Santa Cruz County Superior Court.
Friday, 4 p.m. – Immigration attorney Alisa Thomas has secured the open seat on the Santa Cruz County Superior Court over criminal defense attorney Bryan Hackett.
Thomas had earned 54.7% of the votes (38,149 of 86,434 votes cast) while Hackett had earned 44.67% (31,161) as of Friday afternoon. Thomas has held a nearly 10% lead over Hackett since Election Day.
The Santa Cruz County Clerk’s office added 6,865 ballots to the tally on Friday, bringing the total number of ballots counted to 86,438.
Thomas told Lookout last week that “Santa Cruz County wins” no matter who is elected in this race, and added she’s cautiously optimistic as votes continue to be tallied.
“I’ll reserve my reaction until there’s a more significant number of votes counted,” Hackett told Lookout on Election Day. “Fingers crossed for the next batch of results that they go my way.”
The winner will succeed Superior Court Judge Stephen Siegel, who’s retiring after first being appointed by former governor Jerry Brown in 2012. The candidate who wins Siegel’s seat will face reelection in 2032.
Five other Santa Cruz County judges also have expiring terms this year, but because they’re running unopposed, they will not appear on the ballot.
Hackett has worked in the Santa Cruz court system for 15 years, defending clients and interacting with the local criminal justice system, such as the county’s district attorney’s office, local judges and the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office.
He previously told Lookout his background in criminal defense allows hims to see both sides of a case — the defense side and the public safety side. Hackett added he is both an advocate for his clients and is “pro public safety.”
Thomas has worked in the San Francisco Immigration Court for the past 25 years, focusing on assisting her clients — many of whom are farmworkers — with seeking work permits, residency and sometimes, asylum cases.
She told Lookout in May that her judicial philosophy necessitates thoroughly understanding the case: “And the main thing is to be impartial and to be fair and to hold people accountable.”
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