Carrollton lawyer Karen Guerra, a Democrat, will attempt to unseat 16th Judicial District Court Judge Carmen Rivera-Worley in next year’s general election.

Karen Guerra

Guerra, 52, is the first person to challenge the seat held by the Republican judge, who has said she is seeking re-election. She is also the first Democrat to announce a run for any Denton County office in the 2008 election.

“I think the citizens need a change in that court,” Guerra said. “I think I am better qualified than the incumbent, and I think the citizens need a choice.”

Guerra said her background as a family law specialist would allow her to make an easy transition to the district court position, and it gives her the background to be a fair and impartial judge.

Guerra and her husband, John Guerra, have a Carrollton law practice where they handle divorce and other family law cases. Before opening her law firm, Karen Guerra worked in a wide range of law, including criminal, which provides a wealth of knowledge to pull from, she said.

After Dallas County’s shift to the Democratic side in 2006, Guerra said she feels Denton County is poised to do the same.

“This is a time when people are ready for change,” she said. “People are ready for a judge that is impartial and knows the law.”

Guerra, who has not run for office before, announced she was running in July at a Democratic event and did so early because she wanted to get to know people in the party.

She said she decided to run after the Rivera-Worley denied an appeal she made for a client.

“That was the straw that broke the camel’s back,” she said.

Guerra said she would not litigate a case in Rivera-Worley’s court until after the March elections to avoid allowing her political campaign to influence her work.

Rivera-Worley could not be reached for comment, but her assistant said the judge is running again, and Denton County Republican leaders confirmed that as well. Rivera-Worley has been a judge in Denton County since 2003, when Gov. Rick Perry appointed her. She was elected in 2004 after she ran unopposed.

Guerra graduated from Baylor Law School in Waco. She has been married for 33 years and she has a son. She has lived in Denton County for six years.

District judges handle felonies, large civil lawsuits and some types of family law, such as divorces.

Democrats and Republicans run in races within their own party in the primaries in March; candidates from parties run against each other in the November general election. The filing period for the March primaries is Dec. 3 to Jan. 2.

DAN X. MCGRAW can be reached at 940-566-6875. His email address is dmcgraw@dentonrc.com .