It Is Not About Ethnic Voting Dummy: It is About Integrity

"Jeffrey Feldman, the executive director of the Brooklyn Democratic party, attributed his group's defeat in the countywide races to a fundamental shift in ethnic voting patterns in the borough.

In the past, Mr. Feldman said, Jewish women in countywide races enjoyed a distinct advantage, but that was not the case this year, where the strongest turnout came in Hispanic and black communities. The two losers in the countywide race, Judge Yellen and Judge Sikowitz, are both Jewish. Justice Lopez Torres was born in Puerto Rico, and Judge Thomas is black."
Law journal September 12, 2002

NY Times Editorial Endorsement of Margarita Lopez Torres for Civil Court Judge
"To punish her refusal to hire law clerks referred by clubhouse leaders and other so-called acts of "disloyalty," Margarita Lopez Torres, an able sitting Civil Court Judge was denied the backing of the Democratic Party organization for a second 10-year term. Herdemonstrated independence only bolsters the case for her re-election and the enthusiasm of our endorsement. For voters looking for a way to register their disgust with the crude partonage politics that prevail in judicial endorsements, this is it."