Dream comes true for Sandoval, others

It took nearly a year, but Gay Sandoval has succeeded in not only

removing a besieged judge from the ballot but also in launching

herself onto that same ballot.

The Costa Mesa attorney and former Daily Pilot education columnist

will now face Dana Point attorney John Adams in the November election

for the Superior Court seat.

And it’s only appropriate. After all, Sandoval’s efforts are the

reason that voters will be able to send anyone other than Judge

Ronald Kline into the county seat. It was Sandoval who, earlier this

year, launched a successful write-in campaign to unseat Kline, who

faces criminal charges of child molestation and child pornography.

Sandoval, once a deputy district attorney, prosecuted child molesters

and others at that time.

Sandoval initially filed to run for a different judicial seat last

year, but decided to pull from that race when the district attorney’s

office filed charges against Kline. She said at the time she would

unseat him for the children.

Sandoval’s successful write-in campaign opened the floodgates for

others to join the March election, which Adams won. Kline came in a

close second while Sandoval placed a distant third.

But the battle to throw Kline out of office continued. As it was,

Adams would face Kline in the November election. Kline, still facing

the criminal charges, wanted out of the race. Sandoval agreed and

figured she’d be best suited to challenge Adams. So, she fought to

remove Kline’s name from the ballot and add her own.

In late June, a judge removed Kline’s name from the ballot and

last week, Sandoval’s entire dream came true as a judge forced the

county registrar to add her to the ballot. We appreciate her and her

success.

We wish both candidates a lot of luck, thank them for their

efforts and hope for a clean race focused on the issues that need

attention in this county.