Office No. 4: Honorable Ralph W. Dau (Exceptionally Well Qualified)

Office No. 69: Serena Raquel Murillo (Not Rated)

Office No. 72: Hilleri Grossman Merritt (Well Qualified)

Office No. 82: Thomas Rubinson (Well Qualified)

Office No. 84: Bob Henry (Not Qualified, all rated at this level, 2004 rated Well Qualified, 2006 rated Qualified)

Office No. 94: Michael J. O'Gara (Well Qualified)

Office No. 95: Lance E. Winters (Exceptionally Well Qualified)

Office No. 119: Jared D. Moses (Well Qualified)

Office No. 123: Kathleen Blanchard (Qualified)

Office No. 125: James N. Bianco (Well Qualified)

Office No. 154: Michael V. Jesic (Well Qualified)

California Ballot Measures:

Yes on Proposition 98: EMINENT DOMAIN. LIMITS ON GOVERNMENT AUTHORITY. INITIATIVE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT.

No on Proposition 99: EMINENT DOMAIN. LIMITS ON GOVERNMENT
ACQUISITION OF OWNER-OCCUPIED RESIDENCE.
INITIATIVE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT.

Write up for the 2008 Primary

We are a little pressed for time with our own primary race for the 54^th Assembly District, we added information over the weekend of May 17-18, but this will probably be it until the general election.

We are pleased that we had a good response to our questionnaire this year.  In races that were a close call, that was one of the determining factors for a recommendation.

We are amazed that many organizations and individuals that know us and have made little to no effort on judicial candidates in the past have actually made some recommendations or endorsements this year.  One group forwarded our recommendations last year, but chose to make their own this time.  Some groups decided to forward other’s recommendations that did not even correspond with their own lack of researched recommendations.  This indicates how effective that we have become in Los Angeles County and makes for competition in the future.  We believe that a lot of these groups made their recommendations after ours, so it begs the question; did they do their own research?  Welcome to the competition to work on education the voting public in the future.

If you found these recommendations useful, please consider donating to the cause.  We are making progress at getting great Judicial Candidates elected, but we need funds to recruit and to more effectively promote candidates to run against those that are able to buy their way onto the bench, such as the 2006 Bagel Lady.

L. A. County Superior Court:

An interesting note is a group of prosecutors got together and are cross promoting for each other.  This is a very smart idea and all of the candidates are the best choices in their respective races.

Office No.  4: Honorable Ralph W. Dau (Exceptionally Well Qualified)

The Honorable Ralph W. Dau is an incumbent Judge that is performing well according to all reports.

Although his opponent, Sydnee R. Singer was rated Qualified by the LACBA, others believe that she does not posses the necessary skills for this position.

Office No.  69: Serena Raquel Murillo (Not Rated)

Ms. Murillo is part of the prosecutor team that is supporting each other.  She received our questionnaire late for some unknown reason, but she asked for more time and sent her answers in promptly.  All individuals that I contacted agreed that she is a good choice for this seat.  Murillo also understood the importance of having a candidate statement, one of the few this year.

Both candidates were not rated by the LACBA, I will have to enquire why.  Harvey A. Silberman failed to respond to our questionnaire.  When our recommendations came out, we did get one complaint from a supporter, but it appears he would likely be a judicial activists and some of his supporters are troubling.

Office No.   72: Hilleri Grossman Merritt (Well Qualified)

Ms. Merritt is also part of the prosecutor team that is running for Los Angeles Superior Court.  This race was a close call with Marc Alain Chomel, but Merritt receives the nod because she responded to our questionnaire and her endorsements show screening for judicial restraint compared to her opponent.  Chomel was initially rated qualified by the LACBA, but appealed and upgraded to qualified.

The third candidate, Steven A. Simons was rated qualified by the LACBA, but is not the best choice in this race. 

Office No.  82: Thomas Rubinson (Well Qualified)

Mr. Rubinson is the most qualified candidate for this race.  Rubinson is also one of the prosecutor team running for judicial seats this year.  My sources and his own endorsements show him to be a great choice.

We will keep an eye on Mark Lee for 2010, he was rated qualified by the LACBA, and so I was surprised to not get any responses to my contacts.  Lee is young and politically inexperienced and I am sure that this 2008 race will aid in his growth.  I fully expect to be supporting him in 2010.

Cynthia Loo seams to be a competent commissioner, but also seams to lean towards judicial activism.  Loo is rated qualified by the LACBA.  Some of Loo’s endorsements are troubling and it is reported that her nick name is Cindy Boo Hoo, not a good sign for a judicial candidate.

Office No.  84: Bob Henry (Not Qualified)

This is a very interesting race, all the candidates that are running were rated not qualified.  Also since we have been tracking this races, since starting government for the people, we have the advantage of knowing some of the history.  This is where the LACBA association is really showing a streak towards political games.  In 2004 Mr. Henry was rated Well Qualified by the LACBA.  I believe that he upset some in the LACBA by questioning their process on the rating of an endorsement of a colleague and subsequently he went to Qualified in 2006 and now to Not Qualified.  We have met the Henry several times and we think he will do a great job.  We recommended Bob Henry in 2006 and believe that he is the best choice over his challengers. 

One of the candidates failed to respond to our questionnaire even after replying to our email “I look forward to participating in your review process.

Lori Jones”, that brings up the question of why she failed to participate and what she has to hide.

Pat Connolly, is not making much effort to run a campaign, but surprisingly has received some endorsements from some papers.  It is likely that he will be on the ballot in the future, but this is not the time to vote for him over a more qualified candidate.

John “Johnny” Gutierrez is a perpetual candidate that has probably reached his highest level of achievement in the judicial field.  There are far more deserving individuals and hopefully this will be the last time he is on the ballot.  Gutierrez did not respond to either the LACBA or Government for the People and should not be seriously considered.

Office No.  94: Michael J. O'Gara (Well Qualified)

All the candidates responded for this race, but Michael J. O’Gara has the edge over them all.  This is yet another member of the Prosecutor Team that is running for Los Angeles County Superior Court Judicial positions.

Eduard R. Abele would be a good choice in couple of other races, but unfortunately he is in this one.  If he is unsuccessful this year, I am sure that he will be better able to win in 2010.  LACBA rated Abele as qualified, but I think that he is closer to well qualified.

C. Edward Mack may be a good candidate, but we are troubled by his past and continued association with people that support judicial activism.  Mack has benefited from many dual endorsements in this race which you would think these people would be a little more selective.

Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca has endorsed all three candidates in this race.  I was at a meeting where he was speaking and he was questioned by someone that I know and he said he did not make multiple endorsements in the same races, but this race is another example of him doing so.  All three candidates have endorsements, which is why I did not even bother trying to get Baca’s endorsement for my own race, because it holds little meaning.

Office No.  95: Lance E. Winters (Exceptionally Well Qualified)

Mr. Winters is again one of the prosecutors that teamed up to run for Los Angeles Superior Court.  He has great support and should rule fairly on existing laws and the constitution.

Patricia Nieto is qualified, but her endorsements indicate she would be a judicial activist.  Another great indication that I am finding is if they fail to respond to our questionnaire, which is probably not the candidate to recommend.

Office No. 119: Jared D. Moses (Well Qualified)

Jared D. Moses far the most qualified candidate in this race.  We me met one of his opponents, Robert Davenport, in 2006.  We were very disappointed with his behavior, but we still gave him a chance in 2008.  Unfortunately, it appears that he has done nothing in the last two years to merit serious consideration.

Neither Davenport nor Douglas W. Weitzman responded to the LACBA (both rated as not qualified) or many papers that also talk to judicial candidates.

An interesting note is that the Republican Party of Los Angeles County Central Committee (RPLAC) endorsed Robert Davenport, but all serious groups in Los Angeles County rate him as not qualified.  Perhaps RPLAC should do a little research first.

Office No. 123: Kathleen Blanchard (Qualified)

This is the only candidate that we are recommending that did not respond to our questionnaire.  We met one of her opponents and his wife, and we did like them, but Kathleen Blanchard far more qualified for this position.  I believe she will do a fantastic job. 

Both Alan A. Nadir and Richard A. Nixon were both rated not qualified by the LACBA.  Nixon is a special case, time after time he runs for Los Angeles Superior Court and time and time again he is rated not qualified and gets not support.  Nixon’s email last time was Pres37th@aol.com, trying to capitalize on his name being tied to President and former California Governor Richard M. Nixon.

Office No. 125: James N. Bianco (Well Qualified)

We are a little worried that Superior Court Commissioner Bianco may work out to be a judicial activist as indicated by some of his supporters, but he is well qualified and scared of any serious competition.

An encouraging positive is his choice of favorite Supreme Court Justice,

“Justice Antonin Scalia. While I do not always agree with his position in particular cases, he reaches his decisions based on his interpretation of the law, without favoring a particular side or interest -- a highly principled approach.”

Bianco is also honest about not agreeing with Justice Scalia’s position on particular cases.

Bill Johnson is a troubling character, according to a Met News article, Johnson has been a white supremacist in the past and has many other character flaws.  Obviously he is rated as not qualified and appears to not respond to anyone’s inquiries.  I met Johnson personally and found something troubling with him even before finding out this additional information.  When we passed this information along, some of my early compatriots in making judicial recommendations, they pulled him from their lists.

Early on we decided that we would make recommendations for every race regardless of our discomfort.  Bianco would not be our preferred choice in some of these other races, but he is the best choice in this one.  We look at it like a baseball game, you are not going to win everyone and you congratulate the winner and try to beat the team next time.

Office No. 154: Michael V. Jesic (Well Qualified)

Michael V. Jesic is yet another member of the Team of Prosecutors that are running for Los Angeles Superior.  Jesic is the most qualified and showed that we are having a good impact on the judicial races by his email to our group “I've heard nothing but great things about your organization.” 

I had high hopes for Paul “Pablo” Bruguera, after meeting him in 2006, but he chose poorly on his competitor selection.  Paul or should we call him Pablo now, also decided to blatantly pander and did not respond to our questions regarding this attempt.  Additionally he was downgraded by the LACBA from qualified in 2006 to not qualified in 2008, while we do not agree with this downgrade.

Rocky L. Crabb is well qualified and obviously knows his stuff, but fails our judicial activism criteria.  Some of Crabb’s endorsements are troubling and Jesic is the best choice anyways.

Government for the People

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The information on this website is the opinion and analysis of the staff of “Government for the People”.  We believe that all the information is true and correct.  The information is provided to you in order to assist in making an informed choice on Election Day.