Newport Beach judge takes race

Alicia Robinson

Orange County Superior Court Judge Jim Gray won’t return to the bench

just yet, after defeating fellow Libertarian Gail K. Lightfoot

Tuesday for the chance to challenge Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer in

November.

Final tallies from Tuesday’s election from the Orange County

Registrar of Voters showed Gray gathering 70.5% of the Libertarian

vote and Lightfoot taking 29.5%. The battle was the second-ever

contested primary in the California Libertarian Party’s 30-year

history, but that didn’t draw the kind of voter interest or media

attention Lightfoot had hoped for, she said.

Gray said the election’s outcome was surprising because he’s only

been a Libertarian for about a year and a half while Lightfoot has

some name recognition with the party.

“It was unusual in that I’m the new kid on the block,” he said.

“I’m a lifelong Republican. My opponent is a trouper in the

Libertarian Party.”

Challenging Boxer in November will be Gray, Republican Bill Jones,

Peace and Freedom Party candidate Marsha Feinland and American

Independent Party candidate Don J. Grundmann.

Gray, 59, of Newport Beach was appointed a superior court judge in

1989 by former Gov. George Deukmejian and previously served as a

municipal judge, assistant U.S. attorney and lieutenant in the U.S.

Naval Reserve Judge Advocate General Corps. A longtime Republican,

Gray switched to the Libertarian party because of his objections to

the federal government’s war on drugs and his goal of reducing the

size of government.

He’ll focus on those issues as well as civil liberties and federal

spending as the November election approaches, he said.

“I am enthusiastic toward looking at the general election to

discuss real issues instead of artificial ones like who worked

longest in the military and that sort of thing,” Gray said.

“We’ve always been concerned about something we call the

tax-and-spend Democrats, but now I am more concerned with the

don’t-tax-and-spend-anyway Republicans.”

Before she retired, Lightfoot, 66, of Arroyo Grande worked for

nearly 40 years as a nurse, logging time in intensive care units and

emergency rooms and working in public health. She has been a member

of the Libertarian Party since it formed in 1971, she has been the

state chairwoman of the party twice, and she produces and hosts a

Libertarian program on public access cable in San Luis Obispo County.

She has run for high-profile offices before, seeking the Secretary

of State’s office in 1998 and 2002 and running against incumbent

Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein in 2000. In the wake of Gray’s

victory, Lightfoot said Wednesday she’s not sure if she’ll run again.

“It would depend entirely on whether or not I have the support to

run,” she said, adding that the backing of party leaders and funding

would be key to a future campaign.

For Gray’s part, he thinks he has a chance to win this fall if he

can convince voters a third party vote isn’t wasted because it send a

message to legislators in the two major parties.

“If they change their policies, I will have won the election,” he

said.