Judges, empty seats and gumshoes

Alicia Robinson

He dropped out of the media’s sights after losing a 2004 bid for

Barbara Boxer’s Senate seat, but Orange County Superior Court Judge

Jim Gray is back in print in the latest issue of Reason, a

libertarian-leaning magazine.

Gray, who lives in Newport Beach, was a lifelong Republican but

was also a critic of the federal government’s War on Drugs. He joined

the Libertarian Party shortly before announcing his Senate candidacy

in 2003.

In the Reason article, law professors, attorneys and other legal

experts were polled on who they’d like to see nominated for the

Supreme Court and their favorite Supreme Court justice, either

currently sitting or in the court’s entire history.

Answering the latter question, Gray named Louis D. Brandeis, who

served on the Supreme Court from 1916 to 1939. Gray said he admires

Brandeis’ dissent in favor of personal privacy in one of the

first-ever wiretap cases to face the court.

Council field

approaching end of road

With less than 48 hours left until the deadline, three people have

applied to fill Newport Beach Mayor Steve Bromberg’s seat on the City

Council, which he will vacate June 17. Bromberg is set to be sworn in

June 24 as an Orange County Superior Court Judge.

So far, the applicants are real estate broker Lloyd Ikerd, who is

on the city’s economic development committee; retired engineer Robert

Schoonmaker, who lost council bids in 1996 and 2000; and businessman

Bernie Svalstad, who ran for council in 2002. Applications will be

accepted until 5 p.m. Friday, and the council will appoint a new

member June 21. The appointment of a new mayor will be a separate

action.

Pro-El Toro a no go?

It’s difficult to let a day go by without some speculation on who

is pursuing Rep. Chris Cox’s 48th District House seat, which won’t

open up until Cox’s as-yet-unscheduled Senate confirmation as head of

the Securities and Exchange Commission. No new names have popped up

lately, but one that’s been floated as a possibility was sunk earlier

this week: Laguna Niguel Councilwoman Cassie DeYoung on Monday said

talk of her running for Congress is “pure, rampant speculation.”

“The only seat I’m running for is the Orange County Board of

Supervisors Fifth District seat,” she said.

One issue likely to separate Newport Beach voters from Cox’s South

County constituents is the airport. Many Newporters supported an

airport at the closed El Toro Marine Air Corps Station, while South

County residents have vehemently opposed it. DeYoung said she thinks

politicians who favored an El Toro airport need not apply for Cox’s

seat.

“It would be a very hard road for someone to go down that has a

pro-airport background,” she said.

Off the record, on

the QT and very hush hush

Promising to reveal Sacramento’s shady propositions and smoky

backroom dealings, state Sen. John Campbell joined the blogosphere

Tuesday with the launch of CA Confidential. Setting the tone on the

front page is a black and white photo of Campbell peering

mysteriously over spectacles. Here’s a brief Q & A with the Senator

about his newest electronic venue:

Daily Pilot: So, did you feel goofy having those pictures taken?

Campbell: No, I pose for a lot of pictures. I’m beyond feeling

goofy posing for pictures.... I have been someone who tries to expose

things happening in California government and politics that aren’t

widely known. There’s a sleuth aspect to this that we thought the

pictures would expose.

DP: What was the “accounting discrepancy” (referred to in his bio)

that you uncovered?

Campbell: That was my first job in the car business when I was a

controller. I found, actually, by auditing in the middle of the night

... some of the management and the ownership was basically defrauding

some of the other ownership.

Campbell does all his own writing for the blog and has plans to

add to it in the coming weeks. He’s already gotten feedback and

thousands of hits, he said. Campbell’s blog can be found at

https://www.ca confidential.com.