Carlos Demire, Administrative Law Judge, California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board
Bar Rating: Worthy
DeMeyer started out in law enforcement, working as a dispatcher, jailer and police officer for a decade. He went to law school and represented police and other public sector unions for a quarter century, “handling employee rights cases at every level from administrative hearings to the U.S. Supreme Court,” he said in an email.
In 2013, The Times reported, a law firm in which he was a named partner was dissolved after two members of the Costa Mesa City Council sued one of their clients, the city police union, over legal and political tactics that politicians claimed were overly aggressive.
Demeyer recently said his team was the focus of “anti-union attacks by political forces” and said that after multiple investigations, none of the firm’s attorneys faced charges or disciplinary action.
In 2022, Demeyer became an administrative law judge. His campaign website states that he has heard and issued judgments in more than 2,000 unemployment, disability and tax appeal cases.
The priorities are to address pending matters and take thoughtful, impartial decisions.
“Win or lose, everyone needs to know that our courts have treated them fairly,” he said.
He ran for Superior Court seats in Merced and San Bernardino Counties in March 2024, losing both races, and also ran unsuccessfully in San Bernardino County in 2016.
David Ross, Deputy Alternate Public Defender
Bar Rating: Worthy
According to her campaign website, Ross worked as a legislative aide for Indiana Democrats in Congress and as a TV reporter and documentary producer before becoming a lawyer in 1994.
His legal career began in Riverside County, where he served for five years as a deputy public defender. In 2000, he became a Los Angeles County deputy alternate public defender in regional branches including Long Beach and Compton. He has been in the Torrance office since 2018.
Ross, according to his website, has represented more than 10,000 indigent defendants and completed more than 110 jury trials.
The priority will be to ensure that people feel recognized in His court.
“My goal is to listen to everyone, so that even if a party ultimately loses, they leave the courtroom knowing that the judge heard them,” he said in an email.
Troy W. Slayton, Administrative Law Judge, State Department of Industrial Relations
Bar Rating: Worthy
After starring roles as a child actor on “Cagney & Lacey” and “Parker Lewis Can’t Lose,” Slayton began a two-decade law career in 2005.
He first worked as a private criminal defense lawyer, then spent 11 years at an international firm where he focused on criminal, civil and administrative law and for a time managed the criminal defense division. He is regularly quoted as a legal analyst on TV and in The Times.
Slayton volunteered as a temporary Superior Court judge from 2016-20 and became a full-time administrative law judge in 2021, presiding over workers’ compensation hearings.
“I exposed fraud and helped when injured workers were denied health care and other benefits,” he said in an email.
He has run for Superior Court twice, but lost in 2020 and 2022.
He will give priority to fairness and efficiency. “I will work to ensure that cases proceed in a timely and orderly manner while maintaining due process,” he said.
Outside the courtroom, Slayton announced and televised the UCLA men’s and women’s water polo games.
Donna Triefman, LA County Deputy Public Defender
Bar Rating: Worthy
A deputy public defender since 1998, Triefman has had assignments throughout the country. From 2016-19, he supervised 25 attorneys and mentored new hires as Deputy in Charge of Eastlake Juvenile Court. She has worked in the collaborative drug court, coordinating with prosecutors, judges and others to assist individuals dealing with addiction.
Her current assignment is in the Major Crimes Unit, where she specifically handles murders in special circumstances.
According to his campaign website, Triefman spent five years as president of the state Public Defenders Association, and has led a high school program on civic duties and constitutional principles. He has served as a Superior Court judge pro tem, handling traffic and small claims cases. His bio states that he received the peer-determined Gideon Award as Felony Lawyer of the Year in 2025.
“I will support advancing access to justice by exploring and expanding digital access to courts in underserved communities,” she said.
