Hon. Sonya Heath

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Sonya Heath


Democratic Party



Texas 310th District Court
Tenure

2019 - Present


Term ends

2026


Years in position

5



Report an officeholder change


Elections and appointments

Last elected

November 8, 2022



Contact

Campaign website



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Sonya Heath (Democratic Party) is a judge of the Texas 310th District Court. She assumed office on January 1, 2019. Her current term ends on December 31, 2026.Heath (Democratic Party) ran for re-election for judge of the Texas 310th District Court. She won in the general election on November 8, 2022.
Heath completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. Click here to read the survey answers.
Contents

1 Elections

1.1 2022
1.2 2018

1.2.1 Selection method




2 Campaign themes

2.1 2022


3 See also
4 External links
5 Footnotes



Elections
2022
See also:Municipal elections in Harris County, Texas (2022)General electionGeneral election for Texas 310th District CourtIncumbent Sonya Heath defeated Andrew Bayley in the general election for Texas 310th District Court on November 8, 2022. Candidate%Votes?Sonya Heath (D)
52.0
548,550Andrew Bayley (R)

48.0
505,741Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified.SourceTotal votes: 1,054,291 = 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.Democratic primary election Democratic primary for Texas 310th District CourtIncumbent Sonya Heath advanced from the Democratic primary for Texas 310th District Court on March 1, 2022. Candidate%Votes?Sonya Heath
100.0
136,885Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified.SourceTotal votes: 136,885 = 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.Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.Republican primary election Republican primary for Texas 310th District CourtAndrew Bayley advanced from the Republican primary for Texas 310th District Court on March 1, 2022. Candidate%Votes?Andrew Bayley
100.0
134,269
There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.SourceTotal votes: 134,269 = 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.
2018
General electionGeneral election for Texas 310th District CourtSonya Heath defeated incumbent Lisa Millard in the general election for Texas 310th District Court on November 6, 2018. Candidate%Votes?Sonya Heath (D)

56.2
663,582Lisa Millard (R)

43.8
517,767Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified.SourceTotal votes: 1,181,349 = 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.Democratic primary election Democratic primary for Texas 310th District CourtSonya Heath advanced from the Democratic primary for Texas 310th District Court on March 6, 2018. Candidate%Votes?Sonya Heath
100.0
131,622
There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Total votes: 131,622 = 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.Republican primary election Republican primary for Texas 310th District CourtIncumbent Lisa Millard advanced from the Republican primary for Texas 310th District Court on March 6, 2018. Candidate%Votes?Lisa Millard
100.0
112,981Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Total votes: 112,981 = 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: Partisan election of judges
The judges of the Texas District Courts are chosen in partisan elections. They serve four-year terms, after which they must run for re-election if they wish to continue serving.[1]
Though Texas is home to more than 400 district courts, the courts are grouped into nine administrative judicial regions. Each region is overseen by a presiding judge who is appointed by the governor to a four-year term. According to the state courts website, the presiding judge may be a "regular elected or retired district judge, a former judge with at least 12 years of service as a district judge, or a retired appellate judge with judicial experience on a district court."[2]
Qualifications
To serve on the district courts, a judge must be:

a U.S. citizen;
a resident of Texas;
licensed to practice law in the state;
between the ages of 25 and 75;*[3]
a practicing lawyer and/or state judge for at least four years; and
a resident of his or her respective judicial district for at least two years.[1]
*While no judge older than 74 may run for office, sitting judges who turn 75 are permitted to continue serving until their term expires.[1]

Campaign themes
2022




Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection





Sonya Heath completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Heath'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.






Sonya is the Presiding Judge for the 310th Family District Court for the State of Texas in Harris County. With over 38 years in the legal industry, her particular emphasis has been on family law. Sonya previously owned her own firm The Law Office of Sonya Heath and worked at the First Court of Appeals as a judicial intern. Sonya was published in the 2010-2011 Edition of The Adelphia Law Journal of South Texas College of Law on Human Papillomavirus: Can The Legislature Mandate the Vaccine. Previously Vice Chair of the Young Lawyers Division of the American Bar Association's Family Law Committee, Sonya is currently a member of The College of the State Bar of Texas. During 2008-2009, she was Vice Chair, Employee Benefits General Committee, Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section of the ABA.











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?







Because of problems at home I had to drop out of high school and became a young mother age 18. I obtained my GED age 36 and started college and went to school at night for 6 years all while working at a law firm and raising 2 kids. I started law school at age 42 and became a judge at age 54. I have been divorced, adopted a baby and gone back and forth on custudy of my children with their father 3 times. I received child support and paid child support. I have personally gone through what almost every litigant in my court is going through.
Judge Heath is very active in the community and believes in giving back. She is a past president for Rotary and a lifetime member of the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo.
Judge Heath has been in legal almost 40 years and been the incumbent for 4 years. For the last 12 years she has focused exclusively on family law.











What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?






Education for young mothers.







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.




See also


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Candidate
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Footnotes






? Jump up to: 1.0 1.1 1.2 American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Texas," archived October 3, 2014

? Texas Courts Online, "Administrative Judicial Regions," accessed September 12, 2014

? Texas State Historical Association, "Judiciary," accessed September 12, 2014







Texas courts


Federal courts:
Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Eastern District of Texas, Western District of Texas, Northern District of Texas, Southern District of Texas • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Eastern District of Texas, Western District of Texas, Northern District of Texas, Southern District of Texas
State courts:
Texas Supreme Court
• Texas Court of Appeals
• Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
• Texas District Courts
• <a href="/Texas_County_Courts" title="Texas County Cou