Friday, November 13, 2009
Page 1
Lawyer, Mediator Moreno to Run for Superior Court
By a MetNews Staff Writer
A West Los Angeles attorney and mediator has thrown her hat into the ring as a candidate for an open seat on the Los Angeles Superior Court.
Elizabeth A. Moreno said she had been encouraged to run by family and friends, including Superior Court Judge Deborah Sanchez, whom Moreno said was “kind of a mentor.”
She said she sent out fundraising letters last month, and expects to spend about $75,000 in the campaign leading up to the June primary election. Moreno acknowledged that other candidates are talking about spending $400,000 or more, but said she was “aware of the problem that people are having economically” and said the campaign would be “lean and green,” spending its money “wisely and judiciously” and relying in large part on her website and e-mail.
She told the MetNews she was aware of the “conventional wisdom” that prosecutors—at least three of whom have said they will run—or subordinate judicial officers have an advantage when running for open seats. But she contended that her Hispanic surname would work to her own advantage, and said she felt she was professionally qualified.
“I have a background in criminal law and civil law,” she explained, and has been a hearing officer for the Los Angeles County Housing Authority and the cities of Santa Monica and Long Beach, as well as a mediator. She has been an active member of the Los Angeles County and Beverly Hills bar associations.
Moreno was the author of a resolution, approved by the BHBA but rejected by LACBA, calling on the state to require parties to court-ordered mediation to pay the mediator unless indigent.
She said she is being advised by two campaign consultants but won’t officially hire anyone to work on the campaign until January. The theme of the campaign, she said, would be “access to justice,” particularly for the increasing number of litigants representing themselves.
Others who have announced their intent to run for open seats on the court include Los Angeles Deputy District Attorneys Lou Holtz Jr. and Alan K. Schneider, Beverly Hills practitioner Mark Ameli, Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher R. Garcia, Superior Court Referee Randolph M. Hammock, Pasadena personal injury attorney Anthony de los Reyes, and Los Angeles Deputy City Attorney Thomas J. Griego.
Copyright 2009, Metropolitan News Company