Hernaldo Baltodano, Tim Covello win races for SLO County judge

This story was updated at 12:25 a.m.

San Luis Obispo Superior Court Commissioner Tim Covello and incumbent Judge Hernaldo Baltodano sailed to easy victories in the races for two vacant Superior Court benches.

With all precincts reporting, Covello defeated defense attorney Ilan Funke-Bilu 64.5 to 35.5 percent.

Baltodano beat Andy Cadena, a deputy district attorney with the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney's Office. Baltodano had 65.1 percent of the vote versus Cadena's 34.8 percent, according to the clerk's office.

The race won't officially be called until all mail-in ballots are counted in the coming days.

Baltodano was appointed to the bench in November by Gov. Jerry Brown and officially was seated in December, overseeing a misdemeanor criminal calendar.

Before his appointment, Baltodano was a partner at San Luis Obispo-based employment law firm Baltodano and Baltodano LLP since 2011. He previously served as associate and senior associate at several Los Angeles law firms from 2003 to 2011.

Cadena, who is registered a No Party Preference voter, has been a prosecutor with the local DA's Office since

Cadena has practiced law since 1993. He formerly served as the president of the San Luis Obispo County Government Attorney’s Union.

Baltodano and Cadena are vying for the bench vacated by Judge John Trice, who retired in June 2017.

Covello, who was Assistant District Attorney under former DA Gerry Shea before losing 2014's DA election to current District Attorney Dan Dow, has served as a court commissioner since being appointed by the local bench in January 2016.

Before leaving the DA's Office, which he joined in 1993, Covello had a high-profile career as a prosecutor, successfully securing one of San Luis Obispo County's four capitol murder convictions.

In 1999, Covello was part of a prosecution team that included Trice in the trial against Rex Krebs for the kidnapping, rape and murder of San Luis Obispo college students Aundria Crawford and Rachel Newhouse. In 2015, Covello was successful in prosecuting all five members of a South County group convicted in the kidnapping, torture, and murder of Santa Maria teen Dystiny Myers.

Funke-Bilu, an independent, has been a San Luis Obispo defense and civil attorney for nearly 40 years, defending clients in some of the most high-profile trials in recent history. He also previously served as a member of the Cambria Community Services District Board of Directors.

San Luis Obispo County has not elected a Superior Court judge since 2002, when Trice defeated Nipomo attorney Jacqueline Fredericks.

Five other local judges — Jesse Marino, Craig van Rooyen, Charles Crandall, Tana Coates and Jacquelyn Duffy — are running unchallenged.

This story was originally published June 5, 2018 at 8:29 PM with the headline "Hernaldo Baltodano, Tim Covello win races for SLO County judge."