‘MAGA, threat to democracy’ prompted Democrat’s run for Tarrant’s 485th District judge
John Brender grew up hammering campaign yard signs together and watching his parents run for public office. Now the Fort Worth criminal defense lawyer has launched his own campaign for Tarrant County 485th District Court judge.
Brender will run against Steven Jumes, Gov. Greg Abbott’s appointee and the Republican candidate, in the Nov. 8 election.
Brender, 43, said the MAGA Republicans are posing a threat to America’s democracy, and he wants to bring some decency into politics and the courts.
“I describe myself as more of a moderate,” he said. “Which is why all this stuff scares me is how normalized it’s becoming, and that’s what kind of prompted me to get involved.”
The 485th court was established in January. It’s a felony court created to help Tarrant County handle a backlog of criminal cases and was without a judge until Abbott appointed Jumes to fill the vacancy Aug. 9.
The Tarrant County Democratic Party nominated Brender as their candidate at the end of August, 12 weeks before the Nov. 8 election.
Allison Campolo, the Tarrant County Democratic Party chair, said the party had to get permission from the Texas secretary of state before nominating a candidate, and it didn’t get confirmation until after Jumes’ appointment.
Brender said he doesn’t know if the late start will affect his chances at the polls, but he’s focusing his campaign on those who are concerned about the state of democracy in America, regardless of their political party.
“I think that there are moderate Republicans out there who don’t recognize their party anymore and who are much more willing to entertain, you know, voting for a Democrat,” he said. “I’ve had these conversations with people.”
Francisco Hernandez, a fellow lawyer and a family friend of Brender said they don’t see eye to eye politically, but in his opinion there is no one who is more qualified for the position.
“If he could possibly win this, it means that Tarrant County, we’re beyond just the red,” Hernandez said. “We can think.”
Brender has spent 16 years as an attorney, both as a prosecutor for the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office and most recently as a defense attorney with Brender Law Firm. His father is a former chair of the Tarrant County Democratic Party and his mother ran for state Senate. This is Brender’s first time to run for public office, but he said he’s been involved in politics since Day One.
Campolo said Brender’s work as both a prosecutor and defense attorney gives him valuable experience.
“[He’s] worked on a wide range of criminal cases in both roles, including felonies,” Campolo told the Star-Telegram in an email. “We know Mr. Brender is committed to fairness and serving the people of Tarrant County as a highly experienced, nondiscriminatory legal professional.”
Brender said if elected he would be tough on violent crime while emphasizing the mental health of offenders. He promised the district attorney would not run his court and neither would defense attorneys.
“The most important thing about being a judge is not being beholden to anybody, you know,” Brender said. “And it’s being independent and being fair to both sides.”
This story was originally published September 7, 2022 at 4:41 PM.
