Candice Alcaraz Becomes First Black Woman Elected As Wyandotte County District Court Judge

Ms. Candice Alcaraz ran aon a platform of criminal justice reform and that message was well received as she was elected as Wyandotte County’s first Black woman District Court judge.

One of the longest tenured judges in Wyandotte County was unseated by his primary challenger in Tuesday’s election.

She received 11,796 votes and unseated Division 16 Judge Wes Griffin, one of the longest serving judges in the County with 69 percent of the vote. Griffin had been on the bench since 2008.

This was the first time Alcaraz had run for public office and she organized a grassroots campaign, focusing on meeting voters so they could get to know her. She said she thought the vote would be close.

Division 12 Judge Tony Martinez was elected in 2019. With 72% of the votes Tuesday,

Martinez, who also ran on a platform of reform, won against David Patrzykont, an attorney and firefighter in Wyandotte County.

Tuesday’s winner will become the next judges as there are no opposing candidates running in November’s general election.

Six other judges ran unopposed in the primary:

Tim Dupree (Division 3) Bill Klapper (Division 6) Kathleen Lynch (Divison 10) William Mahoney (Division 7) Aaron Roberts (Division 5) Delia Maira York (Division 15).