In a tight race, incumbent Thomas Adams took a slight early lead Tuesday night in the race for a Santa Barbara County Superior Court judgeship.
With the first round of ballots reported, Adams had 50.9% of the vote while his challenger, attorney Luis Esparza, had 48.7%.
The contested judge race is the first of its kind since 2008 in Santa Barbara County. Whoever wins will start a six-year term starting in January.
Adams, 85, has been a judge since 1983, and he has served in criminal court, juvenile court and family court. He now presides over an arraignment courtroom in Santa Barbara.
He presided over a number of high-profile cases, including the trial for David Attias, who was found guilty of driving a car into a crowd of people in Isla Vista in 2001; and the case of Richard Benson, convicted of killing 24-year-old Laura Camargo and her three children and burning down their house with their bodies still inside.
Esparza, 46, has 22 years of experience as a local private attorney.
The attorney said he feels good about the results so far and that the tight race feels like a victory in its own way.
“This race was all about accountability for our local judiciary and just ensuring that judges meet the standards that the public and the voters deserve and expect,” Esparza told Noozhawk. “I just feel good. I feel confident.”
Born and raised in Santa Barbara, he has practiced criminal defense, personal injury, bankruptcy and civil litigation.
He ran for the Santa Barbara City Council against Randy Rowse in 2015, and again against Mike Jordan in 2019.
Both candidates have spent at least $10,000 on election advertising, according to campaign finance records.
Check back with Noozhawk for updates to this story and other election results.
The Santa Barbara County Elections Office will release additional election results later Tuesday night, as staff process ballots received from polling places, mail and drop boxes. It will then release updates in the coming days as additional ballots are processed and counted. The county needs to certify the June 2 election results by July 2.
