Tim Nader

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Tim Nader

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Nonpartisan

Superior Court of San Diego County

Tenure

2021 - Present

Term ends

2027

Years in position

4

Prior offices

Southwestern Community College District Seat 5 (Historical)

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Report an officeholder change

Elections and appointments

Last elected

November 3, 2020

Education

Law

University of California, Berkeley, 1982

Personal

Birthplace

Fresno, Calif.

Religion

Christian

Contact

Personal Facebook

Tim Nader is a judge of the Superior Court of San Diego County in California. He assumed office on January 4, 2021. His current term ends on January 4, 2027.

Nader ran for election for judge of the Superior Court of San Diego County in California. He won in the general election on November 3, 2020.

Nader completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Tim Nader was born in Fresno, California. He earned a J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1982.

Elections

2020

See also: Municipal elections in San Diego County, California (2020)

General election

General election for Superior Court of San Diego County

Tim Nader defeated Paul Starita in the general election for Superior Court of San Diego County on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Tim Nader (Nonpartisan)	53.1	717,788
		Paul Starita (Nonpartisan)	46.9	635,097

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,352,885
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for Superior Court of San Diego County

Paul Starita and Tim Nader defeated Pete Murray and Mike Murphy in the primary for Superior Court of San Diego County on March 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Paul Starita (Nonpartisan)	30.5	206,374
✔	Submit photo	Tim Nader (Nonpartisan)	26.0	175,609
		Pete Murray (Nonpartisan)	22.3	150,654
	Submit photo	Mike Murphy (Nonpartisan)	21.3	143,779

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 676,416
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Endorsements

To view Nader's endorsements in the 2020 election, please click here.

2018

Community college district election

See also: Municipal elections in Chula Vista, California (2018)

General election

The general election was canceled. Tim Nader (Nonpartisan) won without appearing on the ballot.

Superior Court election

See also: Municipal elections in San Diego County, California (2018)

General election

General election for Superior Court of San Diego County

Matt Brower defeated incumbent Gary G. Kreep in the general election for Superior Court of San Diego County on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Matt Brower (Nonpartisan)	61.2	550,044
		Gary G. Kreep (Nonpartisan)	38.8	349,118

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 899,162
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for Superior Court of San Diego County

Incumbent Gary G. Kreep and Matt Brower defeated Steve Miller, Victor Torres, and Tim Nader in the primary for Superior Court of San Diego County on June 5, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Gary G. Kreep (Nonpartisan)	30.5	173,274
✔		Matt Brower (Nonpartisan)	26.4	149,704
	Submit photo	Steve Miller (Nonpartisan)	17.2	97,838
		Victor Torres (Nonpartisan)	15.2	86,221
	Submit photo	Tim Nader (Nonpartisan)	10.7	61,011

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 568,048
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Selection method

See also: Nonpartisan election

The 1,535 judges of the California Superior Courts compete in nonpartisan races in even-numbered years. If a candidate receives more than 50 percent of the vote in the June primary election, he or she is declared the winner; if no candidate receives more than 50 percent of the vote, a runoff between the top two candidates is held during the November general election.

If an incumbent judge is running unopposed in an election, his or her name does not appear on the ballot. The judge is automatically re-elected following the general election.

The chief judge of any given superior court is selected by peer vote of the court's members. He or she serves in that capacity for one or two years, depending on the county.

Qualifications
Candidates are required to have 10 years of experience as a law practitioner or as a judge of a court of record.

Campaign themes

2020

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Tim Nader completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Nader's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I am currently a Deputy Attorney General for the State of California. I have worked as a criminal prosecutor and a child support attorney, and currently work in the Civil Division of the California Department of Justice.

I have also served as Mayor of Chula Vista, and currently serve as Board Vice President at Southwestern Community College. In these positions, I have taken strong stands in favor of public safety, environmental protection and educational opportunity.

I am proud of the work I did as a prosecutor to protect public safety and uphold the rights of crime victims, and I am proud of the work I have done as an elected official defending the constitutional rights of people of faith, student journalists, and members of diverse ethnic groups and orientations.

I believe cases and issues must be decided on real facts, not "alternative facts", and nobody, even a President or Senator, is above the law.

I have lived in San Diego County a total of almost 50 years. I live in my hometown of Chula Vista with my wife and stepdaughter, and attend church in San Diego (services are currently held remotely due to the pandemic).

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Judges should uphold fairness, equal protection and the Constitution, deciding cases based on facts and evidence, not their personal opinions.
• Public safety, equal protection of the law, and compassion for crime victims and their families should be the priorities of judges hearing criminal cases.
• I reject the incivility and partisan weaponizing of the judiciary that has become fashionable in Washington - a judge's duty is to the country and the Constitution, not his or her political party or ideology.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Public safety: I've worked with police and community members to build dialogue and positive relationships while supporting police with funding, staff, equipment and training. I'm proud of the reductions in crime we achieved when I was Mayor.

Equal Justice: All people are entitled by our Constitution to equal treatment. Biases such as racism, religious bigotry, sexism and homophobia are morally and Constitutionally wrong and judges should work for their elimination.

Crime Victims' Rights: The victims of crime, and law abiding citizens who are potential future victims, are too often forgotten. I have worked with victims' rights advocates and will never forget them.

Environmental protection: Future generations deserve a livable planet, and I believe it is our responsibility to be good stewards of the creation that is entrusted to us. I believe decisions must be based on facts and science, not wishful thinking.

Education: Education is the key to our country's future - as a judge, I will do my part to educate the community on our justice system.

Children's welfare: Courts should work with schools, nonprofit community organizations, faith groups and advocates to assure children coming before the family and juvenile courts have a fair opportunity to achieve their God-given potential.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

First and foremost, I look to the teachings of Jesus for guidance, although I know I fall far short of His perfection. My desire to serve is fundamentally rooted in my faith. For those who do not share my faith, rest assured that I strongly believe the Constitution protects the freedom of people of all beliefs, and I have a record of defending the First Amendment rights of Jews, Muslims and Bahais as well as of Christians. Indeed, I believe it is God's will that we respect and love one another regardless of differences.

Within my family, my maternal grandfather was a tremendous influence on me. He was a part-time Methodist pastor, a lifelong learner with a private library I envied, a very kind and loving man who had a tough side when it was called for.

Among public figures in my lifetime, Robert Kennedy was a strong influence on me. With so much division in our country, and some of our leaders insinuating that we cannot be simultaneously tough and compassionate, and that we cannot have both civil rights and civil order, we need RFK's wisdom and courage more than ever. Robert Kennedy understood that racism and repression are forms of lawlessness and disorder, and also that lawlessness will never bring about justice. The words Robert Kennedy spoke the night Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated and our country teetered on the brink of chaos are as needed now as then: "What we need in the United States is not division; what we need in the United States is not hatred; what we need in the United States is not violence or lawlessness; but love and wisdom, and compassion toward one another, and a feeling of justice..."

Do you believe that empathy is an important quality for a judge?

Yes. However, it is important that empathy extends beyond those who are arguing their case in court, and include all those who may be affected. For example, in a criminal case, a judge should be empathetic not just toward the defendant sitting in front of him, but also toward victims, witnesses, and the public that depends on our system for both fairness toward the accused and protection for law-abiding citizens. In a civil case, empathy must extend toward all those who may be affected by the outcome, not just those who have lawyers arguing their case in court. That may include children in a family law case, or the taxpaying public, or consumers, or business people.

Ultimately, the most compassionate approach is to apply the Constitution and the law to protect everybody's rights and to assure that due process is afforded to all. A judge should use his discretion with compassion toward all who are affected by a case, but should not let his compassion tempt him to assume powers that are not lawfully his.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

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