There are two candidates on the ballot:

Elena Ostby (Incumbent)
Calandra Revering

As a general rule I vote for incumbents in judicial seats unless there’s a good reason not to. I e-mailed Calandra Revering to ask if there was a reason I should not vote to re-elect Elena Ostby and got no response.

Searching on Elena Ostby in a news archive turned up a whole lot of news stories, because she’s been the judge in a number of high profile cases. Most recently, she was the judge who oversaw Diamond Reynold’s assault trial; she said she’d waive a $1,000 fine if Reynolds got a GED. The harshest sentences she’s given out have been for men who murdered their wives and children; at the opposite end, I read about a defendant who got a lighter sentence than their lawyer had negotiated for with the prosecutor because the other two people involved had negotiated lighter sentences despite having committed more of the violent acts.

She looks fine, in other words.

Calandra Revering told the City Pages that she’s running because the Ramsey County courts need more diversity, but she’s running against the only Latina currently on the bench. She was temporarily suspended from practicing law in 2009 (I’m not sure why?) and she has some really bad reviews from former clients, including someone who says Revering cyber-bullied her.

I am going to vote for Ostby.

Edited 11/5 to add: someone in the comments found Calandra’s disciplinary record, if you’d like to know why she was suspended from practicing law.