Sonia Montalbano faces no challenger for her Multnomah County Circuit Court seat in the Nov. 3 general election.
Gov. Tina Kotek appointed Montalbano to the bench on Aug. 3 to fill the vacancy left by Judge Leslie Bottomly's resignation, according to the governor's office. The nonpartisan District 4, Position 6 seat is one of three Multnomah County judicial positions on the ballot. The other two, Position 2 and Position 14, are contested races, according to the Estacada News.
For Portland voters still holding their ballots, the deadline is 8 p.m. on Nov. 3. Ballots must be dropped at an official drop site or postmarked by that date, according to Multnomah County elections.
Who is Sonia Montalbano?
Montalbano is a civil litigator with more than 25 years of experience in employment and business law, according to the governor's appointment announcement. Before joining the bench, she worked as an attorney and of counsel at McKean Smith, according to her professional profile in the Daily Journal of Commerce Oregon 250.
She earned her law degree from Lewis and Clark Law School in 1997 and her bachelor's degree from the City University of New York. Originally from New York, Montalbano was a first-generation college student, according to her candidate profile.
The race is uncontested.
Best Lawyers has recognized Montalbano since 2021 in practice areas including arbitration, commercial litigation, employment law and nonprofit law. She was named Best Lawyers 2026 Lawyer of the Year in Arbitration in Portland and in Labor and Employment law.
Montalbano served as president of the Gus J. Solomon Inn of Court from 2018 to 2020 and has served as a board member of Oregon Women Lawyers, according to the Daily Journal of Commerce. She has helped raise money for nonprofit organizations including the Campaign for Equal Justice, the Public Interest Law Project and Oregon Literacy. She has also performed as an auctioneer and emcee, with those contributions helping raise more than $2 million for several nonprofit organizations.
How to vote
Multnomah County has more than 30 official ballot drop sites. Voters can also use any Multnomah County Library book drop to return their ballots.
Two voter service sites are open until 8 p.m. on Nov. 3: the Multnomah County Duniway-Lovejoy Elections Building at 1040 S.E. Morrison St. in Portland and the Voting Center Express at 600 N.E. 8th St. in Gresham.
As of Nov. 2, about 41% of Multnomah County's active voters had returned their ballots, The Oregonian reported. That matched the return rate the day before the 2022 midterm election.
Preliminary unofficial results will be posted at multnomahvotes.gov starting at 8 p.m. on Nov. 3. Final results are scheduled to be certified Nov. 30.
