Michael P. Johnson — Michael Johnson has practiced law in Oakland for over 30 years. For the past seven years, he has served as a Temporary Judge in Alameda County Superior Court, presiding over hundreds of trials, hearings, and arraignments. Past Presiding Judge Charles Smiley – now an Appellate Court Justice – said Mr. Johnson's work on the bench was "among the best in the county."

His background spans civil rights, corporate law, privacy, and personal injury. He's composed, thorough, and doesn't bring an agenda into the courtroom. His opponent, A. Cabral Bonner, is an impressive civil rights attorney with genuine passion for this city – we think very highly of him.

But for this seat, Mr. Johnson's depth and breadth of actual courtroom experience is the right fit.

You might hear:

"His opponent is a passionate civil rights advocate – shouldn't that matter for this court?"

It does matter, and we respect Mr. Bonner's commitment to Oakland. But a Superior Court judge handles an enormous range of cases – criminal, civil, family, probate. Advocacy experience alone doesn't prepare you for that breadth. Michael Johnson's seven years on the bench across that full range is proof he can do the job best.

Source (https://www.empoweroakland.com/voter-guide#judge-seat-13)

Selia Warren — Selia Warren has spent more than a decade as a Deputy City Attorney for Oakland, litigating in trial and appellate courts on civil rights, land use, elections law, and constitutional matters. She has family roots in Oakland going back decades, owns a home here, has kids in Oakland schools, and her investment in our community resonated strongly.

Her opponent, the Honorable Patricia Miles, is deeply experienced and genuinely impressed us. But her 13 years as an Administrative Law Judge, while impressive, is narrow by design, focused on structured hearings within a very specific regulatory framework. A Superior Court docket is far broader: criminal cases, civil jury trials, constitutional questions.

You might hear:

"Patricia Miles has 13 years of judicial experience. Selia Warren has none."

ALJ experience and Superior Court experience are not the same thing. Administrative law judges don't handle criminal cases, civil jury trials, or the constitutional questions that regularly come before Superior Court.

Selia Warren has spent over a decade litigating exactly those kinds of cases in the courts where this judge position will serve.

Source (https://www.empoweroakland.com/voter-guide#judge-seat-19)