(Note: I ran a series of judicial Q&As for Democratic candidates in contested primaries earlier this year. I am now doing the same for the candidates who were unopposed in March, which includes most of the sitting incumbent judges. As always, this is to help you the voter know a little bit more about the candidates on your ballot. I will be publishing these in the order I receive them. You can see the Q&As and interviews I did for the primaries on my 2016 Election page.)
Justice Dori Garza
1. Who are you and what are you running for?
Justice Dori Contreras Garza. I am running for the Texas Supreme Court, place 5.
2. What kind of cases does this court hear?
The Texas Supreme Court is the court of last resort for all civil matters filed in the state of Texas. Most of the cases are appeals from the fourteen intermediate appellate courts in the state.
3. Why are you running for this particular bench?
For more than twenty years, the Texas Supreme Court has been comprised of nine justices of the same political party that share the same ideology and judicial philosophy. Consequently, an imbalance exists on the court. This imbalance has resulted in some unfair decisions to the consumer. In addition to lacking ideological diversity, the court lacks ethnic and gender diversity. Out of the nine justices, there are only two women, only one of which is Latina. I am running to change those numbers so that the court is more representative of the demographics of Texas.
4. What are your qualifications for this job?
I have served on the 13th Court of Appeals for fourteen years. I do the same work that is done by the justices on the Supreme Court. I have an established record of fairness, efficiency and, significantly, balance.
5. Why is this race important?
The Texas Supreme Court makes very important decisions that impact the daily lives of all Texans.
6. Why should people vote for you in November?
In addition to my qualifications, I offer the citizens of the state of Texas a unique perspective to add to the debate of the issues the court confronts. I am proud to say that the Dallas Morning News and the Corpus Christi Caller Times have endorsed me and recommended that voters elect me.
So this is the super important reason she wants to be a TX SC justice:
“…. the court lacks ethnic and gender diversity.”
Well, super. Vote for me, I have an innie. Vote for me, I’m Latina. Yeah, let me get right on that. I have no problem voting for a qualified woman, a qualified Latina, or whatever other thing she might identify as, but what I do have a problem with is voting for someone who wants me to vote for them…..because identity politics.