District judge appointees in close tallies

Two Clark County district judges appointed by Gov. Steve Sisolak are being challenged this election, with one trailing close behind her opponent in preliminary election results released Wednesday evening.

The county was reporting that all in-person votes cast on Tuesday had been tallied as of early Wednesday. However, races could shift in the coming days as mail ballots postmarked by Election Day continue to be counted.

In Department 11, attorney Anna Albertson was leading with 52.4 percent of the vote, while incumbent Ellie Roohani had received 47.7 percent, according to updated results released Wednesday.

Roohani, a former federal prosecutor, was appointed to the bench in December by Sisolak, after District Judge Elizabeth Gonzalez stepped down. Roohani is the first judge in Nevada to practice the Baha’i religion.

While campaigning, Albertson highlighted her experience in civil law and said she wanted to decrease the current backlog of civil cases in District Court caused in part by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Appointed incumbent Maria Gall was leading in the District Court Department 9 race with 62 percent. Attorney James Dean Leavitt had received about 38 percent.

Gall was appointed by Sisolak in June to fill the vacant seat after District Judge Cristina Silva was appointed to U.S. District Court.

Three candidates were on the ballot for Department 17, which did not have a primary because District Judge Michael Villani announced his retirement after the June election. Preliminary results showed that Deputy Public Defender Jennifer Schwartz was leading with 36.3 percent.

Attorney Adam Ganz was trailing close behind with about 34.5 percent, while Chief Deputy District Attorney Lindsey Moors had 29.1.

There were six candidates on the ballot for Family Court Department A, which was subject to a special filing period following June’s primary after Family Court Judge William Voy announced his retirement.

Attorney Mari Parladé was leading the race with 24.4 percent. Attorney Kristine Brewer followed with 20.5 .

Parladé is the legal and strategic initiatives manager for the Clark County Family Services’ legal division.

In the statewide race for Court of Appeals’ Department 1, Chief Deputy Public Defender Deborah Westbook was leading with 51.3 percent as of Wednesday evening. Current Family Court Judge Rhonda Forsberg had 24.8.