Bonner, Johnson compete for Alameda County judgeship

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Cabral Bonner (left) and Michael Johnson (right) are competing for judgeship No. 13 in the Alameda County Superior Court during the June primary election. (Photos courtesy of Bonner and Johnson)

Civil rights lawyer Cabral Bonner and consumer protection attorney Michael Johnson are going head-to-head in the primary election for a seat on the Alameda County Superior Court bench.

The office dubbed No. 13 on the ballot comes with a six-year term beginning in January 2027 to succeed retiring Judge James Reilly.

While Bonner previously served as a temporary judge on the bench, Johnson is currently in such an interim role per the presiding judge’s appointment and seeks a full-time post.

Either man would win the seat outright in the June 2 primary election with more than 50% of the vote. The race between Bonner and Johnson is separate from the election for seat No. 19, featuring trial attorney Selia Warren and administrative law judge Patricia Miles.

As a superior court judge, 20-year legal professional Bonner vows to be fair and understandable.

“I have always represented people — not the government, corporations, or insurance companies — individuals seeking fairness, dignity, and justice within a complex legal system,” Bonner said.

While representing Alameda County residents in court, Bonner said his respect for the law deepened along with his understanding of its impact on individuals.

“Too often, ordinary people do not fully appreciate the law’s impact until they find themselves standing in a courtroom,” Bonner told the Pleasanton Weekly via email interview. “In that moment, a judge can make the experience confusing and intimidating — or fair, understandable, and dignified. I have seen both, and I know which kind of judge I want to be.”

While working as a temporary judge, Bonner presided over dozens of small-claims trials.

“I discovered how genuinely fulfilling it is to do justice directly — not by advocating for one side, but by reaching the correct legal outcome for everyone in the room,” he said of the work. “That experience clarified my purpose.”

With an eye toward the No. 13 seat, Bonner said he will draw on his experience to move cases through court in an efficient and fair manner.

He emphasized the importance of clear communication with non-lawyers in the courtroom, a task he said he’s prepared for given his experience representing “ordinary people”, mediating disputes and presiding over small-claims proceedings.

Fundamental to Bonner’s sense of justice is his upbringing, he explained.

“I was raised in Oakland by a father who rose from the cotton fields of rural Alabama, having fought for civil rights alongside the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, and a mother who became both a physician and an artist,” Bonner said.

Justice is personal, hard-won and worth fighting for, he said.

“I believe my experience and temperament uniquely position me to serve this community as a neutral decision-maker,” he said. “After two decades of fighting for individual clients, I am ready to bring that same commitment to the bench — where the client is justice itself.”

Bonner has received the endorsement of Reilly, at least three current Alameda County Superior Court judges, SEIU Local 1021, the International Longshore Warehousing Union and Alameda Labor Council AFL-CIO.

Equipped with over 35 years of legal experience, Johnson has served as a temporary judge of Alameda County Superior Court since 2019.

He aims to provide equal treatment under the law regardless of race, class, gender, sexuality, immigration status or religion, according to his campaign website.

“After seven years of serving as a Temporary Judge and building up trust throughout Alameda County, I am ready to step up to the bench full-time,” Johnson told the Pleasanton Weekly in an email interview. “If elected, I will continue to work hard to ensure that everyone who enters my courtroom feels heard and respected, no matter their walk of life, because we all have the right to a fair day in court.”

Johnson was born in Mississippi and raised with his sister by their mother and grandmother. At 3 years old, he moved to California, according to his website.

As a result of his upbringing, Johnson “understands the value of perseverance through life’s struggles, while considering others in their times of need”, according to his website.

Throughout his career, Johnson started a law firm, worked as a trial lawyer and spent over 18 years as in-house counsel for AT&T and WarnerMedia, according to his website.

His resume also includes volunteerism such as serving as general counsel and board member of the Charles Houston Bar Association-Charles Houston Bar Institute; executive committee member and co-chair of the legal redress committee for the NAACP Oakland Branch; mentor through the 100 Black Men of the Bay Area, Inc.’s OK Program and Oakland Tech High School law academy and board president of the Alameda County Bar Association, his website states.

Through the seven years he has spent as a temporary judge, Johnson said he is the only candidate to have earned endorsements from over 35 current, former and presiding judges.

“They have observed me on the bench and they trust me to handle cases fairly, help our courts run more smoothly, and boost public trust in our legal system — an urgent priority, now more than ever,” Johnson said.

Johnson has also received endorsements from Livermore Mayor John Marchand, Pleasanton Mayor Jack Balch and Dublin Mayor Sherry Hu; Alameda County Supervisors David Haubert and Nate Miley; and Alameda County Sheriff Yesenia Sanchez.

More information about Johnson’s campaign is available at johnsonforjudge2026.com. Learn about Bonner’s campaign at cabralbonnerforjudge.com.