On Mon., Nov. 23, veteran Family Court attorney Maria Patrizio called Judge Carol Klein to concede the race for Orange County Family Court judge. The decision to concede comes after a week-long absentee ballot count that saw Klein’s Election Night lead shrink by over 10,000 votes, leaving Patrizio with roughly 49 percent of the total votes cast.
While there was initial hope that the Democratic leaning absentee ballots could tilt the election in Maria Patrizio’s favor, she fell short by just over 3,000 votes, though that number may shrink slightly as challenged ballots are counted and the election is certified. While Maria Patrizio’s campaign fell short of victory, she came close to being the first Democrat elected in a county-wide race since 1995.
“When we embarked on this journey almost a year ago, we knew this would be difficult. We found ourselves in the unlikely position of campaigning during a global pandemic, and despite the odds, we made over 60,000 phone calls and sent over 60,000 text messages to voters. I will be eternally grateful for my campaign staff and all of the dedicated volunteers who gave so much of themselves for this campaign. Most of all I want to thank my children, Ellen and Aaron, who shared this journey with me” said Maria Patrizio.
Regardless of the outcome of this race, Maria Patrizio will continue her work as the Supervising Family Court Attorney at the Legal Aid Society of Orange County, where she has worked for the past 21 years. As future openings in the Family Court bench arise Maria will consider seeking this position again.
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