Tuesday, November 2, 2010
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Lawmaker’s Slate Mailers Call for Defeat of Chief Justice Nominee
By KENNETH OFGANG, Staff Writer
Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Los Angeles, has called for the defeat of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s nominee for chief justice of California.
Voters in the predominantly African-American areas of the county have been receiving mail from Citizens for Waters, the congresswoman’s registered slate mail organization. The mailers contain recommendations as to how voters should choose for various offices on the ballot, as well as on ballot measures.
Besides chief justice nominee Tani Cantil-Sakauye, the mailers urge a “No” vote on Supreme Court Justice Ming W. Chin and nine members of the Court of Appeal—Presiding Justices Robert Mallano of Div. One and Tricia A. Bigelow of Div. Eight, and Justices Victoria G. Chaney of Div. One, Walter Croskey of Div. Three, Steven Suzukawa of Div. Four, Orville “Jack” Armstrong of Div. Five, Paul M. Coffee of Div. Six, Frank Y. Jackson of Div. Seven, and Elizabeth Annette Grimes of Div. Eight.
Five Justices Backed
The mailers urge a “Yes” vote for Supreme Court Justice Carlos R. Moreno and Court of Appeal Justices Jeffrey W. Johnson of Div. One, Judith M. Ashmann of Div. Two, Steven Z. Perren of Div. Six, and Laurie D. Zelon of Div. Seven.
All of the opposed jurists were appointed by Republican governors. Moreno, Ashmann, Perren, and Zelon were appointed by Democrat Gray Davis, while Johnson, an African American and a Democrat, was appointed by Schwarzenegger.
The endorsements were not accompanied by an asterisk, as would be required if the slate mail organization was being paid for supporting or opposing a candidate. A call to Waters’ congressional office was referred to her daughter, Karen Waters, who runs Citizens for Waters and who did not return the call.
Fred Huebscher, a Hermosa Beach-based consultant who puts out several state mailers, said he is also urging a “No” vote on Cantil-Sakauye. He is not being paid for doing so, he said, but did so in order to “let the next governor choose the new chief justice.”
‘Yes’ on Incumbents
Huebscher’s slates urge a “Yes” vote on all of the incumbent justices. He told the MetNews he drew a distinction between those already serving and Cantil-Sakauye, who was nominated after Chief Justice Ronald M. George chose not to seek retention.
To his knowledge, Huebscher said, his and Waters’ slates are the only ones locally to take a position on the appellate courts.
Huebscher did not argue that is opposition would have much impact on the race. But he predicted that Cantil-Sakauye would not do well in the areas that the congresswoman’s slates are mailed to, and where she is quite popular.
He said that Cantil-Sakauye is likely to win, but that he is less than certain. He is certain, he said, that all of the other justices will prevail.
Huebscher also disclosed that he asked a well-known pollster to include a question about the chief justice election in a poll taken for another candidate. The poll, which was in the field three weeks ago, showed 30 percent would vote for Cantil-Sakauye and 12 percent against, with a large majority undecided.
Copyright 2010, Metropolitan News Company