Friday, March 30, 2018
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Candidate Diamond Loses Ballot Designation As ‘Police Commissioner’; Found Misleading
By a MetNews Staff Writer
Los Angeles Deputy District Attorney Troy Davis yesterday won a writ ordering Registrar-Recorder Dean Logan to excise the words “Police Commissioner” from the ballot designation of a rival candidate in the June 5 primary for Superior Court Office No. 118, criminal defense lawyer David D. Diamond.
Diamond is president of the Burbank Police Commission, a volunteer advisory board. The candidate, who wanted to be identified as “Police Commissioner/Attorney” will retain the word “Attorney” in his designation.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mary Strobel said in her ruling that Diamond—real party in interest in Davis’s action against Logan—has not shown that his service on the commission qualifies as a “principal” pursuit, as required by the Elections Code as a basis for a ballot designation.
Strobel’s Ruling
She recited:
“Petitioner submits Real Party’s criminal defense website. It appears from his website that Real Party maintains a busy criminal defense practice, and that he also spends time teaching trial advocacy and as a media personality.… It is undisputed that a Police Commissioner is unpaid. Scott LaChasse, Police Chief for Burbank, states that the Police Commission meets once a month for an hour or two….”
Strobel noted ancillary duties of a Burbank police commissioner and declared:
“The main Commission duty—the monthly meeting—seems unlikely to last more than 1 to 3 hours. While Real Party attests to spending some additional time outside of the meetings, it does not appear from the record that it is a substantial part of his week or month. For example, Real Party does not specify how often he receives training concerning the Brown Act, or the extent of that training He does not say how often he, as a Police Commissioner, reviews the municipal budget—presumably this is an annual event—, how long that review takes, and what role, if any, the Commission has in recommending changes to the budget That the position is unpaid, while not dispositive, also suggests that the amount of time and effort involved is not substantial The court concludes that Real Party’s service on the Commission is not a profession, vocation, or occupation and does not involve a substantial involvement of time and effort. Accordingly, his inclusion of ‘Police Commissioner’ as a principal profession, vocation, or occupation in the ballot designation is misleading.”
Diamond Comments
Diamond, who was unsuccessfully represented by attorney Bradley Hertz, commented:
“I respectfully disagree with the court’s ruling as do several election law experts. The court did not find that my considerable amount of work as a police commissioner constituted one of my ‘principal’ endeavors. I had wished my young opponent desired that this election be decided on its merits and based on qualifications, but he opted to bring in a well seasoned political operative to run his campaign. Mr. Davis has deprived has the voters of accurate information about my qualifications to serve as a judicial officer.”
He did not identify the “political operative.”
Davis commented:
“I fully respect the court’s decision. Voters deserve judicial candidates who both abide by and uphold the law, and present themselves as who they are to ensure elections are fully transparent. Although I have the utmost respect for my opponent volunteering his service on the commission, the ballot designation law only allows for principal professions, occupations, or vocations. The judge, along with the authors of the law, agree that my oppoment’s service does not qualify.”
Cole’s Designation
The only other ballot designation challenge in the county’s judicial elections was resolved Wednesday, with Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Amy Hogue ruling that all three proposed ballot designations of unemployed lawyer Onica Valle Cole—her primary one being “Consumer Protection Prosecutor”—were invalid. Cole was on inactive bar status at the time she filed her nomination papers on March 9 and, under a regulation, a lawyer on such status may not allude to membership in the legal profession.
Nonetheless, the Registrar-Recorder’s Office continues to identify Cole on its website as “Attorney/Mother,” a designation it allowed before it had become clear that Cole was on inactive status when she filed her papers. (On Monday, she reverted to active status.)
Copyright 2018, Metropolitan News Company