Metropolitan News-Enterprise

 

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

 

Page 7

 

PERSPECTIVES (Column)

Is Danette Meyers the LACBA Candidate for District Attorney?

 

By ROGER M. GRACE

 

Deputy District Attorney Danette Meyers was Los Angeles County Bar Assn. president in 2008—so, it’s natural that there would be support for Meyers’ candidacy for DA within LACBA. However, support seeming to come from LACBA obviously would be improper.

Yet, there is just such an appearance.

If you go to the “past presidents” section of the LACBA website, and click on Meyers’ name, you’ll see her photo pop up. Under it, is link marked “Biography.” If you click on that, where do you suppose you’ll be routed?

No, not to a biography. You’ll find yourself on Meyers’ campaign website.

That’s right...the Los Angeles County Bar Assn. has a link on its website to this:

 

 

A voluntary bar association, comprised of members who are at all points along the political spectrum, certainly should not be facilitating, in any way, the campaign of a candidate for a political office, even if she does happen to be a past president of the group.

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There’s more. If you go to the to the “Endorsements” section on Meyers’ website, you’ll find thumbnail photos of persons who are recommending her election. One thumbnail has four persons in it and bears the label “Alan Steinbrecher.” Click on that, and here’s the top of what you’ll see:

 

 

A list of Steinbrecher’s affiliations continues from there.

That’s Steinbrecher to the right of Meyers (her left). Past President Don Mike Anthony is at the left, President-Elect Eric Webber to the right.

There is no asterisk next to “Current LA County Bar President” with a notation “for identification purposes only,” or any other such wording.

Steinbrecher is lending the prestige of the office of LACBA president to the campaign of a candidate for public office.

He does have a First Amendment right, of course, to take a stance in a political campaign. In assuming office, however, he impliedly agreed to subordinate his rights to standards which the association imposes on its leaders. This policy was adopted on May 12, 1993:

“RESOLVED, that no policy of the Association prohibits any member of the Association, acting in his or her individual capacity, from taking a public position endorsing, sponsoring, supporting, opposing or otherwise commenting on a candidate for election to an office or position within an organized bar so long as the Association member makes clear that the views expressed are not those of the Association or any of its sections or committees and are not made in his or her capacity as a representative of the Association.”

Emphasis added.

Even if it had been made clear that Steinbrecher’s endorsement was a personal one, only, I would think that the leader of any organization with broad-based membership, having no political orientation, should show enough self restraint, while in office, as to avoid choosing up sides among candidates.

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And then there’s the matter of the endorsement of Meyers by Sally Suchil.

Suchil, hired in 2009 as LACBA executive director, is not identified as such on Meyers’ campaign website.

One of the identifications that is listed is “Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles, President.” It’s not in the past tense.

Those who don’t know who Suchil is will assume she’s the current president of WLALA.

As to those who do know who she is—and that’s probably the majority of the members of the legal community—it doesn’t matter that Suchil’s present position is not mentioned. It will be understood that the executive director of the County Bar is rooting for Meyers over any other candidate—and was doing so even before incumbent Steve Cooley announced he won’t run for reelection.

The appropriateness of this on the part of any executive director would be questionable. On the part of Suchil, it is plainly an act of gall.

That is because Suchil, unlike precedessors in LACBA—or executive directors of other bar groups, or courts, or other organizations of lawyers or judges—has striven to be an identifiable character...to be to LACBA what Colonel Sanders is to KFC or Ronald McDonald is to a hamburger chain.

If you can pry yourself from Meyers’ website and go back to LACBA’s, click on “About Us.” The top link among 17 is “Greetings from Executive Director Sally Suchil.”

Steinbrecher is president. Suchil is a hireling. Her staff controls the website, and she controls the staff (exercising very much control). Suchil is extending the greetings on behalf of LACBA. (It’s at http://www.lacba.org/showpage.cfm?pageid=11.)

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Take a look at these other websites:

· State Bar of California: There is no “greeting” from Executive Director Joe Dunn. There is, however, a monthly “From the President” column.

· Administrative Office of the Courts: You’ll find no “howdy” from Administrative Director of the Courts William Vickrey. Under “Welcome to the Judicial Branch of California State Government,” there is information on Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye.

· Los Angeles Superior Court: No salutation is extended by Executive Officer/Clerk John Clarke…but that’s no surprise. As much as Suchil seeks the limelight, Clarke covets obscurity.

·Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals: There is a “Welcome to the Internet portal of the United States Courts for the Ninth Circuit” from Chief Judge Alex Kozinski. He provides “A Word About Our New Website” and desists from including links to any pornographic websites. Molly C. Dwyer, clerk of the court, does not offer any message of her own.

· California Judges Assn.: There’s not a peep from Stanley S. Bissey, the executive director & CEO.

· American Bar Assn: A “President’s Page” is included. There’s no “Director’s Page” for Janet Jackson.

Examine the websites of the New York City Bar Assn., the Chicago Bar Assn., the Bar Association of San Francisco, the San Diego Bar Assn., the San Fernando Valley Bar Assn., and so on.  You will not see the executive director being portrayed as the belle of the ball, the star of the show.

On the website of an organization, while a “greeting” is not essential, if one does exist, it would seem appropriate that the president, not a staff executive, speak on behalf of the organization in extending greetings and telling of the organization’s mission and activities. If an organization’s staff were to put up a page focusing on the staff executive portraying him or her as the group’s spokesperson, it would plainly signal a quest for power on the part of that executive.

Suchil’s endorsement of Meyers is incompatible with her role—or what should be her role—as executive director.

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Others endorsing Meyers include former District Attorney Gil Garcetti, LACBA Past Presidents Miriam Krinsky, Robin Meadow, Gretchen Nelson and Roland Coleman, and Compton Mayor Eric Perrodin, a deputy district attorney.

Looking at websites of other candidates (to which LACBA does not have a link):

Among those backing Deputy District Attorney Alan Jackson for DA are Los Angeles City Councilman Dennis Zine, Long Beach City Attorney Robert Shannon, state Sen. Tony Strickland, R-Simi Valley , and retired Los Angeles Superior Court Judge William Pounders.

In DDA Bobby Grace’s corner are former Los Angeles City Council member Rita Walters and former City Controller Rick Tuttle.

Mario Trujillo, also a deputy district attorney, lists no endorsers on his website.

Providing comedy relief is doofus Steve Ipsen, a repeat candidate who’s a deputy district attorney.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Jacquelyn Lacey has a simple “placeholder” website. With her candidacy having been a mere a “maybe” until Cooley announced that he isn’t running, she has no endorsers listed. Now that she has Cooley’s support, endorsements are bound to flow. She appears to be in a strong position, as the #2 person in the office; other DDAs will have to try to explain how they, with no administrative experience, are better qualified than she.

Los Angeles City Attorney Carmen Trutanich has formed an exploratory committee. He has no campaign website.

Others mentioned as possible contenders are former Los Angeles City Council member Jack Weiss, former Los Angeles City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo, and California state Assembly member Mike Feuer, D-Los Angeles.

 

Copyright 2011, Metropolitan News Company

 

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