Surrogate Judge López Torres racking up endorsements prior to re-election

March 28, 2019 Rob Abruzzese

Hon. Margarita López Torres, one of Brooklyn’s two Surrogate’s Court judges, is running for re-election this June and has a lot of backers from around the borough. Eagle file photo by Mario Belluomo

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Brooklyn Surrogate’s Court Judge Margarita López Torres is running for re-election in the June 25 Democratic primary and after running as a symbol of an independent judiciary in her last two elections, the justice has no shortage of support this time around.

Justice López Torres was recently endorsed by Congressmembers Nydia Velázquez and Hakeem Jeffries, two of the most visible Democrats from Brooklyn. She was also endorsed by Borough President Eric Adams recently and her list of past endorsements is long as well.

“I’m proud to be supporting Judge Margarita López Torres for re-election for Surrogate’s Court Judge,” Public Advocate Jumaane Williams said. “With 40 years of legal experience, and over 26 years of judicial service, her excellence and compassionate commitment to serving the people of Brooklyn throughout her career is well known.

“She has demonstrated competence in managing this complex court, and providing the fairness and efficient administration of justice we need,” Williams continued. “I join with so many other elected leaders, and the Working Families Party, in urging Democrats to vote for her re-election in the Democratic Primary on June 25.”

Judge López Torres was elected to Civil Court in 1992 and re-elected in 2002; she was then elected to Surrogate’s Court in 2005. She was not the Democratic-backed candidate during her 2005 run, making her election a move that wasn’t easy to pull off. In addition, independent runs like hers usually mean that it is hard to gain support the next time around.

When she won back in 2005, the New York Times proclaimed that, “shattering stereotypes is her mission.”

Others who have already endorsed Justice López Torres include Assemblymembers Peter Abbate, Rodneyse Bichotte, Robert Carroll, William Colton, Maritza Davila, Erik Dilan, Joe Lentol, Walter Mosley, Nick Perry and JoAnne Simon; state Senators Velmanette Montgomery, Roxanne Persaud and Diane Savino; and Councilmembers Brad Lander, Alan Maisel and Kalman Yeger.

López Torres also has the backing of many of the borough’s top political clubs and organizations including the Working Families Party, the Brooklyn Young Democrats, Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats, Independent Neighborhood Democrats, the Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club, the Kings County Democratic Executive Committee, North Brooklyn Progressive Democrats, Lambda Independent Democrats, the Thomas Jefferson Democratic Club and the Vanguard Independent Democratic Association, as well as that of 31 district leaders.

Justice López Torres was a chief lawyer for the City’s Child Protection Agency and Director of Family Law at Brooklyn Legal Services before she joined the bench.

She is also very active in many of the local bar associations including the Brooklyn Women’s Bar Association, the Brooklyn Bar Association and the Bay Ridge Lawyers Association.