Judge races a local split
Paul Clinton
Voters sent two local attorneys to the Orange County Superior
Court bench on Tuesday and, in the process, denied two others who had
enjoyed wide name recognition.
Gay Sandoval, the Costa Mesa trial attorney who was the first to
publicly crusade for accused child molester Judge Ronald Kline’s
removal from the ballot, saw her campaign end in defeat Tuesday.
Sandoval lost to Dana Point attorney John Adams, who secured 58%
of the vote. The two were seeking Office No. 21.
In a campaign that featured the two candidates trading charges
more often than offering their qualifications, Sandoval secured 42%
of the vote.
Sandoval and Adams entered the race after federal prosecutors
brought Kline up on child pornography and molestation charges earlier
this year. They both vowed to oust the embattled judge, offering
themselves as part of a crowded field of write-in candidates.
And even though Sandoval’s public assault on Kline resulted in her
appearance on national news programs, local voters chose Adams.
“He was endorsed by everybody in the Republican world,” Sandoval
said about Adams. “It wasn’t a shock.”
Adams also won despite the Orange County Bar Assn. handing
Sandoval a “qualified” rating. Adams declined to participate in the
ratings.
Corona del Mar attorney Glenda Sanders, a dogged campaigner, rose
out of obscurity to claim Office No. 27.
Sanders perhaps benefited from the bar’s rating of her as “highly
qualified.” Sanders also benefited from an opponent who stopped
campaigning for the office shortly after the March 5 primary.
Sanders beat top Orange County prosecutor David Brent in a
landslide, pulling 72.3% to his 27.7% of the vote. This race
attracted the least attention of the three.
“I’m tremendously thrilled and relieved,” Sanders said. “My goal
was to have a successful campaign, not an interesting one.”
Vickie Bridgman, a deputy district attorney who lives in Newport
Beach, was also turned away despite wide recognition. Bridgman gained
notoriety in 1997, when her son died in a tragic car accident on
Irvine Avenue.
Kell MacEachern, a Corona del Mar deputy district attorney, beat
Bridgman in the political equivalent of a photo finish. MacEachern’s
51.5% bested Bridgman’s 48.5%.
MacEachern, a relative unknown outside the county’s insular legal
community, staged a remarkable comeback from the March primary, when
Bridgman beat her by 10 points but failed to capture the more than
50% of the vote needed to avoid a runoff.
Bridgman put a brave face on her defeat, when contacted Wednesday.
“I had a great job before the election,” Bridgman said. “I still
have a great job ... It was up to the voters. I asked and I didn’t
receive.”
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