Metropolitan News-Enterprise

 

Thursday, February 18, 2016

 

Page 1

 

Three Lawyers Join Local Judicial Races at Last Minute

 

By KENNETH OFGANG, Staff Writer

 

Three previously unannounced candidates, including two prosecutors, filed their declarations of intent to run for Los Angeles Superior Court judge just before Tuesday’s 5 p.m. deadline.

Deputy District Attorney Hubert S. Yun, a member of the office’s Hardcore Gang unit, said he had been thinking about running “for a while,’ but acknowledged being at a disadvantage to opponents who have taken time to raise money and hire consultants.

He said he “hadn’t thought about” how much he would be able to raise, or whether he would hire a consultant of his own. Putting the necessary paperwork together in time to meet the deadline was an all-consuming enterprise, he suggested.

‘Crazy Day’

“It was a crazy day down there” at the county registrar’s office where elections documents are filed, he told the MetNews.

Yun declared for Office No. 84, the seat being vacated by Judge Kathleen Diesman. Also declared for that seat are sole practitioners Aaron Weissman and Naser Khoury, and Deputy District Attorneys Philip Marshall, Javier Perez, Susan Townsend, and Dennis Vincent.

Yun has been a prosecutor for nearly 10 years, the last three and a half of which have been spent in the gang unit. He is a graduate of UC Riverside and Loyola Law School.

He is married to Deputy District Attorney Linda Kwon.

Prosecutor for Open Seat

Deputy District Attorney Paul Kim filed a declaration of intent to run for Office No. 11, the seat now held by Judge Michelle Rosenblatt.

“I think I have the experience,” Kim said yesterday. He has been a deputy district attorney for 16 years, spent nine of those years in the gang unit, and is now assigned to the Organized Crime Division.

He said he has been seriously considering running for the past three years, and finally decided to take the plunge after talking to fellow prosecutors, defense lawyers, and judges that he knows. He said there are supporters ready to help him raise money for the campaign, but declined to say how much he thinks he can put together.

He also said he did not think that the late start would significantly impact his ability to raise enough to be competitive. “I don’t think it’s just about the money,” he said, adding that he expects to be active on social media.

Kim added that he was “considering options” in terms of hiring a consultant. 

Also filing for Office No. 11 Tuesday was Alicia Molina, of the Huntington Park firm Molina & Molina. Molina, who did not return a phone call, also filed in Office No. 42, the seat being vacated by Judge Alan Rosenfield.

Other Candidates

The other candidates who have filed in Office No. 11 are Deputy District Attorneys Debra R. Archuleta, Steven Schreiner, and Javier Perez; Khoury; civil litigator Jonathan Malek; Deputy Attorney General Kim Nguyen; and Superior Court Commissioner Cynthia Zuzga.

Filers in Office No. 42, besides Molina, are Deputy District Attorney Efrain M. Aceves, sole practitioner Michael Ribons, Schreiner, Townsend, Vincent, Weissman, and Zuzga.

Candidates who file DOIs in multiple seats can only return nominating documents for one of them, after which the candidate cannot withdraw from that race or enter another one. Aceves, Schreiner, and Townsend are all using campaign consultant David Gould, who previously told the MetNews that Schreiner will be running in No. 11, Aceves in No. 42, and Townsend in No. 84.

In other news yesterday, Judge James Kaddo, who faces a challenge from attorney/wine merchant Stepan Baghdassarian, said he will be retaining Cerrell Associates, Inc. as his campaign consultants. The firm successfully represented him in turning back a challenge in 1998.

The judge, who is in his 80s, said he is in good health, wants to continue serving, and is looking forward to the campaign, “I need a little excitement,” he quipped, adding that he intends to take the challenge seriously.

 

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