Special Meeting for Chief Presiding Judge Interviews - May 12, 2026
Special Meeting for Chief Presiding Judge Interviews - May 12, 2026
On May 12, 2026, the Phoenix City Council held a special meeting to interview three finalists for the position of Chief Presiding Judge of the Phoenix Municipal Court. The council interviewed each candidate for up to 45 minutes, followed by public comments and an executive session. The meeting concluded with a unanimous vote to appoint a candidate (name not publicly disclosed in the transcript).
Public Comments & Testimony
- Valerie Boyer Wells spoke in support of Judge Michelle Lu Sang, citing her intellect, integrity, and leadership experience, including her role in transitioning Mesa Court to electronic files.
- Adriana Jenko (Assistant U.S. Attorney, President of Los Abogados Foundation) spoke in support of Judge Wilbur Hudson, emphasizing his breadth of experience, community involvement, and ability to foster trust.
- Terry Marks spoke in support of Judge Hudson, highlighting his integrity, community presence, and long-standing service.
- Joshua Fisher (shareholder at Gallagher & Kennedy) spoke in support of Judge Tina Solomon, praising her diligence and deep ties to the Phoenix court system.
- Chris McBride spoke in support of Judge Hudson, recalling his work with indigent clients and specialty courts, including the first veterans stand down.
- Alicia Skupin (Presiding Judge, Chandler Municipal Court) spoke in support of Judge Lu Sang, citing her experience as a presiding judge in Apache Junction, her leadership in transitioning to electronic files, and her relationships with the Arizona Supreme Court.
- Chuck Whitehead spoke in support of Judge Hudson, noting his mentorship and leadership among judges.
Discussion Items
Candidate Interviews:
- Judge Wilbur Hudson – Approximately 30 years of experience with the Phoenix court system as a public defender, prosecutor, private attorney, and judge. Currently presides over Veterans Court, which has served over 3,000 veterans with 1,500 graduations. He emphasized procedural justice, leading by example, and community outreach. He identified budget, accessibility (expanding court hours), and technology (virtual hearings, electronic filing) as key challenges. He supports expanding specialty courts and using data to track recidivism.
- Judge Michelle Lu Sang – 28 years of judicial experience, currently on the Chandler Municipal Court bench. Previously a Mesa judge and chaired the AJC committee on leadership and workforce excellence. She stressed commitment to justice, rule of law, and treating court users with respect. Her biggest challenge identified was transitioning to digital files. She supports virtual hearings to reduce failure-to-appear rates and emphasized community trust and specialty court evaluation through recidivism.
- Judge Tina Solomon – Phoenix Municipal Court judge since 2018, previously a prosecutor for 19 years. Presides over an in-custody docket with many domestic violence cases. She emphasized the golden rule, procedural justice, and leading by example. Her pressing issues include the court management system (CMS) project and photo safety. She proposes a domestic violence specialty court and improved training. She supports virtual hearings selectively, noting in-person hearings promote compliance.
Key Outcomes
- The council voted unanimously to enter executive session to discuss the personnel matter.
- Following executive session, the council returned and voted unanimously to appoint a candidate. The transcript does not specify who was appointed, but the meeting was adjourned with congratulations.
Meeting Transcript
Good afternoon. Welcome to today's special meeting. Will the clerk please call the roll? Councilwoman Guadalago? Here. Councilwoman Hernandez. Councilwoman O'Brien. Here. Councilwoman Pastor. Here. Councilman Robinson. Here. Councilwoman Stark. Here. Councilman Waring. Vice Mayor Hodge Washington. Here. Mayor Gallego. Here. Thank you so much for joining us. Today is a special meeting for the purpose of interviewing candidates for our chief presiding judge of the Phoenix Municipal Court. We have a wonderful court system, and we're thrilled so many people were interested in this position. We have, with the assistance of our judicial selection advisory board, narrow it down to three candidates, each of whom we will interview today. Each candidate will have a maximum of 45 minutes to answer. One candidate at a time will be upstairs in the council chambers, and the other two will be in the basement with no audio to ensure a fair interview process. The candidates will be called in alphabetical order by their last names. After the interview, we will take public comments with a maximum of two minutes per speaker. All candidates are welcome upstairs to listen to the public comments. After the public comments, the city council may vote to go in an executive session on this personnel matter. If approved, the council will go downstairs to the lower council chambers for the executive session and return to the upper council chambers to resume the special meeting and take action or close the meeting. The order of candidates today will be Judge Wilbur Hudson, Judge Michelle Lu Sang, Judge Tina Solomon. Do any of my candidate uh colleagues have comments before we begin the interview or questions? All right. Well then we will begin with Judge Wilbur Hudson. And if you could please come forward, thank you. Thank you for your service to our city. Uh please introduce yourself and outline the professional experiences, qualifications, and leadership competencies that have prepared you for the role of chief presiding judge. Additionally, describe what aspects of this opportunity prompted you to pursue it. And welcome. Thank you for having me. I appreciate the opportunity. Um I started out as bailiff for Judge Patterson. I was a staff member of his court. From there, I went to the county attorney's office. From there, I went to the attorney general's office. From there, I went and formed my own practice. I practiced in city courts around the county. I practiced in justice courts around the county. I practiced in courts outside of the county. I had a federal practice, I was on the federal panel for a number of years, and from there, I became a uh city phoenix municipal court judge.
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