Metropolitan News-Enterprise

 

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

 

Page 1

 

Sixth Prosecutor Bids for Election to Superior Court

 

By a MetNews Staff Writer

 

A sixth prosecutor filed to run for Los Angeles Superior Court judge yesterday, as the declaration-of-intent filing period drew to a close.

Craig M. Gold, a deputy district attorney who handles asset forfeiture cases, filed for two of the three open seats, those now held by Judges Deborah Andrews and Anita Dymant. By doing so, he retains the option of filing nomination documents for either seat by the March 9 deadline.

He would have to face a fellow prosecutor in either event. Deputy District Attorney Sean Coen is seeking the Andrews seat and Deputy District Attorney Eric Harmon is running to succeed Dymant.

The other three prosecutors—Deputy District Attorneys Andrea Thompson and Shannon Knight and Los Angeles Deputy City Attorney Matthew Schonbrun—are running for the seat now held by Judge Judith Vander Lans.

Knight yesterday also filed to run for Andrews’ seat, so she, like Gold, has until March 9 to finalize her candidacy.

In other news:

•Attorney, musician, record producer, and radio host Joseph Escalante, and civil attorney Lawrence Kaldor, filed declarations of intent to run for the Andrews seat, joining Coen, Gold and Knight.

•Environmental lawyer Berj Parseghian and personal injury attorney Benjimin Brees filed for the Dymant seat, joining Harmon and Gold.

•Attorney Mark Bernsley, who filed with the Fair Political Practices Commission as a potential candidate, told the MetNews he had decided not to run. “It seemed futile,” he said, in light of the fact that he would not have a strong ballot title like “criminal prosecutor,” nor the six-figure-budget that the winning candidate is likely to spend.

•Robert Ross, a criminal defense lawyer who took out papers to run in either the Dymant or Vander Lans seat, apparently did not filed. He could not be reached for comment.

The list of challenged incumbents and their opponents was final as of last Wednesday. Attorney Kenneth R. Hughey is taking on Judge James D. Otto, attorney/realtor Douglas Weitzman is running against Judge Lynn Olson, and Judge Sanjay T. Kumar is being opposed by Hawthorne prosecutor Kim Edward Smith. 

 

Copyright 2012, Metropolitan News Company