Manuel Perez is running for a Marion County Circuit Court seat, District 3, Position 15, in the Nov. 3, 2026, Oregon general election. The race is nonpartisan.
Candidate information
Full name: Manuel (de Anda) Perez, according to his 2020 Oregon State Bar Judicial Voters Guide response
Office sought: Circuit Court Judge, District 3, Position 15
Party: Nonpartisan
Education: Perez said he attended the U.S. Naval Academy. He said he earned an associate's degree in political science from Treasure Valley Community College in 1976 and a bachelor's degree in political science from Boise State University in 1978. He earned a juris doctor from the University of Oregon in 1981, according to BallotReady.
Bar admissions: Perez said he was admitted to the Oregon State Bar in 1981, along with the Oregon Federal District Court, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and the Idaho Federal District Court.
Experience and public service
Perez said he began his legal career at Oregon Legal Services in 1981 as a Reginald Heber Smith Fellow staff attorney representing farmworkers. He said he was promoted to director of the Ontario Regional Office and then deputy director of the Farmworker Program, serving through 1995.
He said he worked as an associate attorney and self-employed attorney at Rader & Rader from 1995 to 2002. He then worked as an attorney at Rader, Stoddard & Perez, P.C., from 2002 to 2013, according to BallotReady.
Perez served as deputy executive director of the Public Defender of Marion County from 2013 to 2020, according to BallotReady. He said he also served as a hearings referee and circuit judge pro tem at Marion County Circuit Court from November 2018 to Feb. 13, 2020.
Perez said he served on the boards of the Oregon Legal Center from 1995 to 2018, the Oregon Law Foundation from 1997 to 2000 and the Northwest Farmworkers' Justice Project from 2013 to 2016. He said he was president of the Malheur County Bar from 2009 to 2010.
On the issues
Judicial philosophy: Perez said his philosophy is "to be fair, impartial and to make sure that litigants are respected, heard and fully understand the process." He said the greatest challenge is taking time to ensure parties understand all aspects of proceedings so they respect the results.
Juvenile justice: Perez said juvenile justice is of particular interest to him. He said he wants to help reduce the number of children who enter the adult criminal justice system.
Responses are based on public data and answers to a Surround Sound Media questionnaire if they were provided.
