Friday, March 11, 2016
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Two Slot Into Judicial Races as Filing Deadline Nears
By a MetNews Staff Writer
Two more Los Angeles Superior Court candidates who had filed declarations of intent to run for multiple seats have returned nominating papers as today’s deadline to do so approaches.
Aaron Weissman, a sole practitioner who does civil litigation, yesterday formalized his candidacy for Office No. 84, the seat that Judge Kathleen Diesman is leaving. On Wednesday, Deputy District Attorney Debra Archuleta Wednesday formally entered the contest for Office No. 11, the seat being vacated by Judge Michelle Rosenblatt.
There will be three open seats on the June 7 primary ballot. Besides Office Nos. 11 and 84, there is No. 42, now held by Judge Alan Rosenfield, where Weissman had also filed a DOI.
Archuleta had also filed a DOI for Judge Marsha Revel’s seat, before Revel filed, but Wednesday became the first of nine lawyers who filed DOIs in No. 11 to become an official candidate.
Of the others, Superior Court Commissioner Cynthia Zuzga slotted into another race; Deputy District Attorney Paul Kim said he plans to return his papers today; Deputy District Attorney Steven Schreiner has said he expects to run in that seat; Westlake Village attorney Jonathan Malek has not returned papers and cannot file in another race; and San Fernando Valley practitioner Naser Khoury, Whittier lawyer Alicia Molina, and Deputy Attorney General Kim Nguyen filed DOIs for multiple seats.
Nguyen said she would file today, but did not say whether it would be in Office No. 11, or in No. 158, where none of the three candidates who filed DOIs—Nguyen, Deputy District Attorney David Berger, and Judge Elden Fox—had returned nominating papers.
Fox is one of three incumbents who filed DOIs but had not returned their nominating documents, the others being Enrique Monguia and Donna Groman. Failure of an incumbent judge to return those papers results in an automatic five-day extension of the deadline.
Things are slightly clearer in Office No. 84, where Weissman joins Deputy District Attorneys Susan Jung Townsend and Hubert Yun, while Khoury and Deputy District Attorney Javier Perez could run there as well.
In Office No. 42, Deputy District Attorney Efrain Matthew Aceves, sole practitioner Michael Ribons, and Superior Court Commissioner Cynthia Zuzga previously returned papers. Molina could run there also.
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