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Deputy P.D.’s Challenge to Judge Gelfound Is Now Official
Former Carson Mayor Drops Bid to Attempt to Unseat Judge Elswick
By a MetNews Staff Writer
A second threatened challenge to a sitting Los Angeles Superior Court judge has materialized, with a deputy public defender filing nominating papers for Office No. 41, occupied by David B. Gelfound, while a lawyer who had intended to run against the judge in Office No. 156, Carol Elswick, said Friday that a newspaper column critical of him has deterred him from running.
Gelfound’s challenger, Lloyd E. Handler—who has aligned himself with the sort of criminal justice system approach espoused by District Attorney George Gascón—turned in his petition late Thursday. Gelfound perfected his candidacy on Feb. 25.
Former Carson Mayor Albert Robles said he had intended to file his nominating petition for Office No. 156 on Friday but has decided not to do so.
The only Los Angeles Superior Court judge other than Gelfound with a competitor who has finalized the process for running is Sherilyn Peace Garnett, who has been nominated to the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. Her opponent is an obscure bankruptcy attorney who is apparently counting on Garnett being confirmed by the Senate before the June 7 primary, leaving him as the only eligible candidate. Attorney Timothy Reuben, managing principal of Reuben Raucher & Blum, has taken out but not filed a nominating petition for Garnett’s office and Long Beach Assistant City Prosecutor Randall Fudge has taken out petitions for Office No. 152, held by Judge Gloria L. White-Brown, and for an open seat.
Handler’s Statement
Handler said in a statement he provided to the METNEWS on Feb. 10:
“I believe that both nationally and in Los Angeles County, both the people and members of the justice community have realized that a system based on retribution and incarceration has been a failure and has not resulted in significant increases in public safety despite it’s cost in destroyed lives, disrupted families and devastated communities.”
He continued:
“Although this was clear locally when LA County Voters overwhelmingly elected District Attorney George Gascon, even before he was elected changes were already underway in Los Angeles County as evidenced by the growing number of collaborative courts and programs that emphasized, where possible, providing meaningful rehabilitation of individuals by addressing the root problems that led to their criminal behavior rather than merely incarcerating them and pretending to be unaware of the fact that most incarcerated persons eventually return to the community, usually worse than before. I believe that as State Court judges are subject to election, sitting judges who oppose these trends in public opinion should expect to be challenged.”
Handler identified Gelfound as being such a judge and criticized him for not taking action, as supervising judge of the court’s North Valley District, against Judge Michael J. O’Gara for his anti-Gascón Internet postings.
Candidate’s Protest
The deputy public defender has protested to the METNEWS that it has unfairly linked him to Gascón when he has not done so himself except in the limited context of showing “that his election was evidence of a change in attitude within both the populace and enlightened participants in the justice system.” He has also complained that the newspaper used the verb “said” in a news story recounting his Feb. 10 statement which, he contended, falsely implies an oral utterance to a reporter rather than a written commentary.
Handler has no finance committee (which is required in order to be allowed to raise more than $2,000) and lists no endorsements on his campaign website. However, he is bound to gain the weighty endorsement of the Los Angeles County Democratic Party, and possibly that of the Los Angeles Times which, like the local Democratic Party, supports Gascón.
Gelfound has established a committee and hired a consultant. He has no worries as to finances; the Los Angeles Superior Court judges have formed a political action committee (“PAC”)—the “Los Angeles Judges Election Protection Committee”—which has amassed in excess of $300,000.
The judge qualifies for funds from that PAC, under its rules, having been a contributor to it. According to the PAC’s latest report to the Secretary of State’s Office, covering the period through Dec. 31, he made monthly payments to it of $25 for the last six months of 2021.
(Garnett is not likewise eligible for PAC funds, not having made contributions, and general concern over the challenge to her is minimal given the likelihood of her confirmation. Confirmation would most likely occur after a victory by her in the primary.)
The PAC will be holding a fundraiser for Gelfound on March 19 and indications are that a large number of judges will be attending. A second fundraiser hosted by the PAC is also being planned, it has been learned.
Donations from lawyers is also to be anticipated. Gelfound is a well-regarded jurist who was designated in 2019 by the San Fernando Valley Bar Association as “Judge of the Year.”
Candidates’ Backgrounds
Gelfound, who unsuccessfully sought election to an open seat in 2002, was appointed to the bench in 2007 by then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. He was, at the time of his appointment, a deputy district attorney, a post he had held since 1994.
For five years before than, Gelfound was in private practice.
He received his law degree is from Pepperdine University in 1989.
Handler’s 1987 law degree is from UCLA. He served as a law clerk to U.S. District Court Senior Judge Albert Lee Stephens Jr. (now deceased) from 1987-89, then worked for a year as a deputy district attorney.
His campaign website notes:
“[T]he DA’s Office and he became disillusioned with each other. His boss wanted him to slavishly follow the DA Policy Manual and expected him to believe police officers without question, and Lloyd had trouble with both of those expectations.”
He became a deputy public defender, remaining in the office for 10 years; was in private practice in Northern California from 2000-2004; and returned to the Public Defender’s Office in Los Angeles in 2004.
Robles’s Decision
Robles’s background was the subject of a column by METNEWS editor/co-publisher Roger M. Grace in Thursday’s issue. Robles dispatched an email to Grace on Friday bearing the subject line, “Your March 3rd Perspectives Column on me - titled ‘Albert Robles, a Politico With Baggage, Seeks to Unseat Judge.’ ”
He wrote:
“I read your column referenced above, and many friends, supporters and potential contributors tell me there is no way I can beat the incumbent judge now. They have reminded me that ‘I never should have argued and upset someone who buys ink by the barrel,’ i.e., you Mr. Roger Grace. So, I will not be turning in my signatures today as planned.
“Congratulations for singlehandedly securing another six-year term for the only person in more than two decades to be publicly admonished like Judge Elswick by the Commission on Judicial Performance.
“This independent state agency mandated to investigated judicial misconduct found Judge Elswick to have “abused her authority, conveyed the appearance of bias and prejudgment, and violated the Code of Judicial Ethics.”
But, I guess that is not that a big a deal to you.
“I hope you are happy.”
Open Seat Elections
In other judicial election developments on Friday, two deputy district attorneys who each took out nominating papers for six open seats—Abby Baron and Keith Koyano—made a choice.
•Baron settled on Office No. 60. Six others have taken out petitions for that seat but only one other has filed the petition: Deputy Public Defender Anna Slotky Reitano.
•Koyano opted to run for Office No. 118. Seven others took out papers, one of whom was Baron who is now locked into the race for Office No. 60.
Three others have filed for the seat. They are Deputy District Attorney Melissa Hammond, former Deputy District Attorney Georgia Huerta, and Deputy County Counsel S. (Shawn) Thever.
Huerta originally chose the ballot designation, “Deputy District Attorney, County of Los Angeles.”
Lawyers employed by a county who use their job titles are required Election Code §13107 to include “the name of the county…preceded by the words ‘County of.’ ” However, Huerta, no longer a deputy district attorney, and is subject to the three-word limit generally applicable to ballot designations.
The designation has been changed to “Deputy District Attorney.” That, however, might be questioned under a provision of the Code of Regulations that allows a past position to be used only if the candidate has no current profession, occupation or vocation, and Huerta, as an active member of the State Bar, remains an attorney.
•Deputy Public Defender Kevin Thomas McGurk on Friday perfected his candidacy for Office No. 90. Four others, including Baron, took out petitions for that seat, and two—Deputy District Attorney Melissa Hammond and attorney Naser (Nas) Khoury—have returned them.
•Deputy District Attorney Karen A. Brako on Thursday finalized her candidacy for Office No. 151. There is one other candidate for that seat: Thomas D. Allison whose designation is “Attorney/Legal Professor.”
Six persons other than Brako and Allison took out petitions for that seat, but they include Baron, Koyano, and Hammond.
•As of press time on Friday, no candidate has returned papers for Office Nos. 67 or 70.
Five persons took out papers for No. 67, but two of them were Baron and Koyano, who were also among the seven who grabbed petitions for Office No. 70.
•Meanwhile, Los Angeles’s controversial sheriff, Alex Villanueva, filed his nominating petition on Friday. Eight other persons have taken out petitions for the office and three have returned them, including two women: parole agent April Saucedo Hood and Sheriff’s Captain Britta S. Steinbrenner.
Females have had an edge in judicial contests in recent years but the attraction to voters of a woman candidate for sheriff is untested. The deadline for nominating petitions is next Friday except that if an incumbent fails to file, there is a five-day extension for others to enter the race.
Copyright 2022, Metropolitan News Company