Endorsement: Voters should re-elect Judge Frank Ledee, who faces two weak opponents

Broward County voters should keep incumbent Circuit Judge Frank David Ledee on the job.

In December 2018, former Gov. Rick Scott appointed Ledee, 55, to replace Judge John Contini, who resigned while the Judicial Qualifications Commission (JQC) was investigating him for ethics violations.

Ledee has performed well, courthouse observers say. He has the brains, experience and temperament to handle the cases that come before him in the Unified Family Division. Further, as a Hispanic jurist, he provides Broward with needed diversity on the bench.

Ledee says he’s fluent in English, French, Spanish and Creole. That’s an appealing skill in a county with a majority-minority population.

Furthermore, the Circuit Court can benefit from keeping an experienced judge, someone who knows the courthouse’s cumbersome systems and the people who navigate them.

A resident of Broward County for 40 years, Ledee says on his campaign website that he’s asking voters to return him to the bench. “I truly love the work,” he wrote in his Sun Sentinel questionnaire. “I could not ask for a greater compliment of my work than their vote.”

His opponents are Meredith Chaiken-Weiss, 48, a former Lighthouse Point city commissioner; and former circuit judge Matthew Destry, who was defeated in his re-election bid in 2016 while the JQC was investigating him for an ethics violation.

After Destry’s defeat, the commission formerly charged him, accusing him of creating “the appearance of a quid pro quo” by meeting with a campaign supporter about a pending criminal case outside the presence of the attorneys involved. He resigned in October of that year, 11 weeks before the end of his term. Once he resigned, the commission dropped its charges.

Destry did not return the Sun Sentinel’s candidate questionnaire, nor did he participate in the joint candidate interview conducted by members of this Editorial Board. He has not communicated with the newspaper about his candidacy.

Chaiken-Weiss is a lifelong resident of Broward County and now lives in Pompano Beach. She said she is running for judge because “it’s always been a dream of mine.” Broward needs more female judges, she said, and she believes that voters should select judges, not Rick Scott.

She also said she entered the race because she wants to make sure that Destry doesn’t get elected again.

Ledee compiled an impressive resume before becoming a judge. For more than 20 years, he was an assistant state attorney in Miami-Dade County, where he became part of the management team, according to his questionnaire.

He spent much of his time in that office prosecuting people accused of murder, racketeering, child abuse and drug dealing. At the end of his time there, he served as chief of the gang-prosecution and gun-violence units.

In 2017 he was among six attorneys who were interviewed by the Trump Administration for the job of U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida. He was not offered the position.

In July 2016, Scott appointed Ledee to the board of the South Broward Hospital District, which oversees Memorial Healthcare System. He resigned from the board when he was appointed to the bench.

Ledee has deep roots in South Florida. He was married in Broward. He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Barry University in Miami Shores and got his law degree from Nova Southeastern University.

Ledee said the three greatest challenges facing Broward’s judicial system are: building trust with citizens; improving courtroom communication in an increasingly diverse county; and recognizing that many people who end up before a judge have mental health issues.

“Time” is the most valuable thing he can provide the people who appear before him. “I pride myself on being accessible, fair and open to contrasting viewpoints.”

Chaiken-Weiss is a senior associate attorney for Graner Platzek & Allison. She has been practicing law for nine years since getting her law degree at Nova Southeastern University. In 2002 she was elected to the Lighthouse Point City Commission at age 30. She lost her 2005 re-election bid.

She said she would be able to relate to people who find themselves in front of a judge. “In light of my financial struggles, I can relate to those that are not financially well off,” she said.

Chaiken-Weiss said she has not been endorsed by any organizations. She has $8,370 in her campaign account; she loaned herself $2,000 of that.

Destry loaned his campaign $7,000, which is all he has in his account.

Ledee said he has been endorsed by the Florida State Fraternal Order of Police, District 5; and the Broward County Police Benevolent Association. He has $143,002 in his account; he loaned himself $101,000 of that total.

Circuit judges are paid $162,000 a year and serve a six-year term. The election is Aug. 18. If one of the candidates fails to get more than 50 percent of the vote, the two candidates who got the most votes will face each other in a runoff on Nov. 3.

Editorials are the opinion of the Sun Sentinel Editorial Board and written by one of its members or a designee. The Editorial Board consists of Editorial Page Editor Rosemary O’Hara, Dan Sweeney, Steve Bousquet and Editor-in-Chief Julie Anderson.

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