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The two candidates in a relatively rare competitive race for Contra Costa Superior Court Judge Position Q have headed from the courtroom to the campaign trail in recent months, where both have reflected on their legal careers and philosophies in their platforms and in voter engagement events.
The lone competitive judge race on this year’s ballot is between incumbent Jessie Hsieh and challenger Valery Polyakov, an Oakley resident and prosecutor in the Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office with a background in Bay Area courts.
While the two longstanding legal professionals have much in common in their platforms – qualities such as fairness, impartiality, and commitments to the value and role of the justice system – they diverge widely in their backgrounds.
Hsieh, a son of Taiwanese immigrants, began law school at 19 years old after starting college at 14, graduating from UCLA law in 2008 – a year before Polyakov entered law school and shifted away from a lengthy career as a scientist, having earned a PhD in chemistry from Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv in 1992.
“I think my biggest struggle shows up on my face,” Hsieh said in an April 30 candidates forum at Diablo Valley College hosted by the Contra Costa Bar Association and the League of Women Voters.
“I’m young,” he continued. “I’ve always been young. I’ve been young in everything that I’ve done. However, it has never stopped me from being able to do the work that I need to do, and to excel at it. I think the biggest struggle is when people see how young I am.”
Despite his youth – which didn’t appear to be an issue for Gov. Gavin Newsom when he appointed Hsieh to the Position Q bench in 2024 – Hsieh holds two years of experience in the position as the incumbent, coming to the bench with more than 15 years of professional experience in the field.
That includes work as an attorney with the East Bay Community Law Center, the Contra Costa and San Francisco public defender’s offices, and as a member of the Oakland Police Commission from 2021 to 2024.
“I am the only candidate here who has made it through an intensive vetting process,” Hsieh said. “Through multiple stages, surveys, over 1500 various attorneys and judges, among many, many different areas and qualifications, I have been selected as a judge. I have essentially been proven as a candidate and a judge. And I think that shows up here today with the support of many of my fellow judicial colleagues, who have not only seen me do the work now, but many of whom I have appeared in front of, and they’ve seen my work over the years.”
Although Polyakov’s current post is in Stanislaus County, he also pointed to a background in Bay Area courtrooms and his current home in Contra Costa County as factors that sparked his interest in the position. But he said that the most important reason for his campaign was to spark civic engagement in the judicial process.
“Yes, I know I was not appointed by the governor, and I never applied for this appointment,” Polyakov said at last month’s forum. “The main reason is that I believe, in this great state of California, we deserve to elect our judges. Even though I respect our governor – I voted for him – I still believe that the voters should have the final say about who we’re going to elect as judges, because again, the judges are the last barrier against tyranny, and that is especially important right now.”
Polyakov pointed to his wide-ranging background in numerous fields of law, including civil cases such as patent law, in addition to his current work as a criminal prosecutor and experience as a temporary judge and settlement officer in San Francisco Superior Court.
“I have life experience,” Polyakov said. “I had a career before I became a lawyer, which helps me to relate to ordinary people. I was a scientist, a chemist, also after that career I became a lawyer. I started practicing in civil law in the beginning, patent law. I’m a patent lawyer, and about a year and a half ago I joined the Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office, and I am working as a prosecutor since then.”
Polyakov emphasized that while he believed it was important for voters to have a voice in the judge’s election, and that he wanted support from voters, he was not seeking to sway those who are committed to Hsieh.
“If you feel that I am a good candidate, or I’m a better candidate, please vote for me,” Polyakov said. “Otherwise, please vote for Jesse Hsieh.”
Support for Hsieh is significant ahead of election day, including endorsements from all currently seated Contra Costa Superior Court judges, state Sen. Jesse ArreguÃn, and Alameda County Supervisor Lena Tam, and more than $30,000 in campaign contributions.
Polyakov had not reported any endorsements or campaign contributions as of May 19. But the challenge to Hsieh’s incumbency is nonetheless serving as a platform for engaging voters and educating the public about the role of the courts and judges in civic society – and, most importantly for Polyakov, fulfilling his goal to “provide voters a choice” on Election Day.
In addition to agreeing on the importance of impartiality, fairness, and a commitment to justice and the rule of law, the two candidates agreed that one of the biggest challenges for dedicated legal professionals is never having enough time to engage as much as they want with the people whose cases come through their courtrooms.
“The biggest struggle is that you have a very significant caseload, and you don’t have time to prepare – sometimes you do your best, you stay longer, you prepare better, you try to do it better, you use technology as much as you can – but you still miss certain things,” Polyakov said. “And that is a constant struggle.”
Devoting the time necessary to fully understanding and considering a case – and the importance of those cases for the people involved – is also a challenge that looms over the bench, according to Hsieh.
“I do not have enough minutes or hours in the day to spend the time with people who — for them, when they show up in court is the most important thing that is happening in their life at that moment — I simply don’t,” Hsieh said. “I have to triage; I have to sort. I do everything I can to figure it out as quickly as I can, and I still go long, and I still spend many hours in court hearings.”
The winner of this year’s election will be sworn in for a six-year term in the seat.
More information on Hsieh’s campaign is available at jesseforjudge2026.com, and more on Polyakov’s campaign is available at polyakov4judge.com.
