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<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
The Yolo County Superior Court.<\/p>\n
Randy Pench<\/p>\n
rpench@sacbee.com<\/p>\n
Editor\u2019s note: Because contested races for judgeships are rare, we enlisted the assistance of David De Alba, who was the presiding judge of the Sacramento County Superior Court before he retired. De Alba had never met the candidates vying for a judgeship on the Yolo County Superior Court before we interviewed them May 1, which the candidates acknowledged during our interview. De Alba did not have a vote in our endorsement process, but he offered relevant insights into the candidates\u2019 legal experience that helped inform our deliberations. We sincerely thank him for his time.<\/p>\n
Most judges in California don\u2019t reach the bench by getting elected.<\/a> They\u2019re generally appointed by the sitting governor and once seated, they often face little to no meaningful challenges until they decide to retire.<\/p>\n That\u2019s why a Yolo County election this year, triggered by the impending retirement of Superior Court Judge Janene Beronio, presents a rare opportunity for voters to have a meaningful choice between two non-incumbent candidates.<\/p>\n Both are laudable individuals: Diane Ortiz<\/a> is a Yolo County deputy district attorney, and Ryan Davis<\/a> is a Sacramento County court commissioner.<\/p>\n They are both well-versed in the law and knowledgeable, but one is a clear standout.<\/p>\n We endorse Davis because of his breadth of experience as a public defender and a court commissioner. Ortiz was impressive and gracious in her interview, but her experiences are clearly more narrow. She could be an honorable judge one day, but if voters have to make a choice, and they do, we believe Davis\u2019 background makes him the choice for this race.<\/p>\n A judgeship would be a natural continuation of Davis\u2019s current role as court commissioner in Sacramento County Superior Court. A court commissioner is appointed by Superior Court judges to preside over a variety of cases.<\/p>\n Davis is a lifelong Yolo County resident who is raising his young family there. His mother and stepmother were both public school teachers, his dad was a UC Davis professor and his wife is currently an elementary school teacher.<\/p>\n As a legal professional, Davis has served in civil, family and criminal courts. He began his career as an intern at Legal Services of Northern California<\/a> and at the Contra Costa County Public Defender\u2019s office.<\/a> He later participated in UC Berkeley Law\u2019s Death Penalty Clinic<\/a>, a nonprofit organization that seeks justice for individuals facing the death penalty by providing them with high-quality representation. It\u2019s a subject in which Davis has a great interest, and he would later go on to teach at the clinic as an adjunct professor at the university.<\/p>\n Davis\u2019s role as court commissioner is already judicial and requires handling a high volume of time-sensitive cases. Davis previously worked as a deputy attorney general at the California Department of Justice,<\/a> a deputy state public defender, an assistant federal public defender and an advisory member of the Judicial Council of California.<\/p>\n Throughout his career, he has stayed involved with his home community, serving as the former president of the Davis Schools Foundation, a member of the City of Davis Human Relations Commission, a community panelist for Yolo County\u2019s Neighborhood Court restorative justice program, and a member of the Citizens\u2019 Oversight Committee for Davis school parcel taxes.<\/p>\n His resume leaves very little to be desired for such an important, judicial role in Yolo County.<\/p>\n Ortiz comes from a law enforcement family. Her campaign page<\/a> cites her father\u2019s career in the California Highway Patrol and that her two brothers are also in law enforcement. Ortiz told us that she wanted to follow her dad\u2019s footsteps in the CHP, but a training injury prevented her from completing her time at the CHP academy.<\/p>\n She worked in a civilian capacity with the CHP for nearly a decade, in internal affairs and as a legislative analyst. Ortiz has the endorsements of the Davis, Woodland, West Sacramento and Winters police officers\u2019 associations, as well as the Yolo County Deputy Sheriffs\u2019 Association.<\/p>\n There is nothing wrong with promoting a campaign on life\u2019s experiences, love of family and pride in being supported by law enforcement.<\/p>\n Davis, too, has ties to the local law enforcement community: his brother, Matthew, is the Yolo County Undersheriff. Davis has pledged to recuse himself from any cases involving arrests made by his brother or his sister-in-law, who is also employed in local law enforcement. Yolo County is a tight-knit community.<\/p>\n It also did not escape our notice that Ortiz would be a natural extension of Beronio\u2019s tenure as one of Yolo County\u2019s first \u2014 and still too few \u2014 female jurists. Beronio has endorsed Ortiz.<\/p>\n And, as a Latina, Ortiz would also be representative of diversity needed on the bench. But Ortiz\u2019s career in law enforcement and as a prosecutor is not as nuanced or expansive as that of Davis\u2019s.<\/p>\n At the Office of the State Public Defender, Davis handled direct appeals to the California Supreme Court. On his campaign page<\/a>, he said he became a public defender because he believes \u201cevery person deserves a level of compassion that isn\u2019t earned and can\u2019t be forfeited.\u201d<\/p>\n He was a deputy attorney general with the Government Law Section of California\u2019s Department of Justice, where he worked on Second Amendment cases, election law, housing cases and fiscal and regulatory issues. At the Federal Defender\u2019s Office for the Central District of California, he drafted and filed habeas petitions, which determine if a prisoner\u2019s detention was lawful.<\/p>\n We sincerely hope that one day Ortiz becomes a judge, but in this election, Davis is clearly ready for the role right now.<\/p>\n BEHIND THE STORY MORE <\/a> What are editorials, and who writes them? <\/p>\n Editorials represent the collective views of the editorial boards of McClatchy Media\u2019s California opinion teams.<\/p>\n They do not reflect the individual opinions of board members or the views of reporters in the news sections of The Sacramento Bee and its sister publication, the San Luis Obispo Tribune. Reporters do not participate in editorial board deliberations or weigh in on board decisions.<\/p>\n In Sacramento, the board includes Executive Editor Chris Fusco, California Opinion Editor Marcos Breton, opinion writers Robin Epley, Tom Philp, LeBron Antonio Hill, Cathie Anderson and op-ed editor Hannah Holzer.<\/p>\n In San Luis Obispo, it includes Opinion Editor Stephanie Finucane.<\/p>\n We base our opinions on reporting by our colleagues in the news section, and our own reporting and interviews. Our members attend public meetings, call people and follow-up on story ideas from readers just as news reporters do.\u00a0<\/p>\n Read more by clicking the arrow in the upper right.<\/p>\n Tell us what you think <\/p>\n You may or may not agree with our perspective. We believe disagreement is healthy and necessary for a functioning democracy. If you would like to share your own views on events important to California, you may write a letter to the editor (150 words or less) using this form<\/a>, or email an op-ed (650-750 words) to opinion@sacbee.com<\/a>. Due to a high volume of submissions, we are not able to publish everything we receive.<\/p>\n This story was originally published May 4, 2026 at 11:00 AM.<\/p>\n Related Stories from Sacramento Bee<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Yolo County Superior Court. 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