Shots fly in judge contest

Paul Clinton

In the first salvo from what could be a bruising judicial campaign

this fall, candidate Gay Sandoval has begun playing some political

hardball by sending a letter to her opponent’s endorsers accusing him

of misrepresenting his work record.

In the letter, sent July 11, Sandoval also invited the supporters

to review court records on Dana Point attorney John Adams, including

a child-support lawsuit that was a part of his divorce.

Sandoval, who lives in Costa Mesa, wrote in a memo to the Daily

Pilot that the letter was intended to “give them a chance to verify

the information contained in public records.”

“I assumed that some persons chose to endorse Mr. Adams because of

the nature of the charges against his opponent,” she wrote.

Both Sandoval and Adams ran as write-in candidates against Judge

Ronald Kline during a March 5 primary. The Orange County district

attorney brought Kline up on child pornography and child molestation

charges earlier in the year. In the race to unseat Kline, both

candidates made hay over the charges against the besieged judge.

In a race that featured 11 write-in candidates, Sandoval placed

third, collecting 10.8% of the vote total. Adams won 33.2%, while

Kline won 32%.

Sandoval, in the July 11 letter, said Adams “misstated his past to

the voters on his candidate biography.”

In February, Adams launched a campaign Web site

(www.johnadamsforjudge.com) in which he posted the biography. It

trumpeted him as a “respected attorney” with “over 20 years of

experience” and also said he practiced law in Santa Ana from 1980 to

1994.

Adams was suspended from the State Bar of California in 1982 for

failing to pay his dues, according to court records. He was

reinstated in 1990, after paying the dues and late fees.

Adams acknowledged that the misinformation was mistakenly posted

on the site in February. Adams said the information was quickly

corrected at the time.

Between 1982 and 1990, Adams was out of the legal field, running

an auto-services business called Auto-Tech Data Systems. He said he

sold the business to Montgomery Ward after eight years.

“My Web site inadvertently left out my business experience in the

1980s,” Adams said. “That was fixed within 48 hours.”

Sandoval sent out about 50 letters to elected officials --

including Reps. Chris Cox and Dana Rohrabacher -- and political

groups.

Adams and Sandoval are set to face off Nov. 5 in the race for

Office No. 21. Sandoval, 49, is a Costa Mesa trial lawyer.

In her letter Sandoval also advised Adams’ endorsers to examine

records from a lawsuit filed by his ex-wife, Sally Adams, to secure

child-custody payments.

“Ms. Sandoval’s suggestion that people review my divorce file from

1991 is despicable,” Adams said. “It’s a low blow.”

Sandoval said she sent out the letter because she wanted Adams’

endorsers to know “the facts.” Adams’ ex-wife sued him to force him

to pay child support and get back $175,000 he had borrowed from her,

the records show.

“I thought this was a nice thing to do, to let the endorsers know

what is out there,” Sandoval said. “It’s not about his divorce, it’s

about his business dealings.”

* PAUL CLINTON covers the environment and politics. He may be

reached at (949) 764-4330 or by e-mail at paul.clinton@latimes.com.