Many of you have asked for my input on L.A. County judge races. It’s been a while since I did these, but I’ll say what I said the last time I made such recommendations. First, no disrespect is intended to anyone I am not recommending. I know some people better than others. Even with people I know, there can be reasons I am reluctant to make a public statement. Maybe I know both candidates in race, for example, and do not want to choose between them. Also, I have based my opinions not just on my own personal knowledge, but on candidates’ reputations among people I trust, including but not limited to the good or bad opinion of Mrs. P. As before, this is not a “vote for any Deputy D.A.” set of recommendations, but rather a recommendation for (or in some cases against) specific people.

I am a big fan of the Met News, by the way. I think all of my recommendations line up with theirs. Where I don’t make one, feel free to check them out. They’re certainly more reliable than the L.A. Times.

I’ll make the recommendations in order of how much I care about how you vote, with the more significant ones earlier.

Office No. 93: Victor Avila

Vic is running unopposed, but give him your vote anyway. He’s the candidate I know best. I used to work with him in Central Trials. He’s a great lawyer: honest, and not full of himself. Just a wonderful guy.

Office No. 48: Renee Rose

Mrs. P knows Rose and thinks very highly of her. Ericka Wiley has had a lot of TV ads, but here’s what the Met News has to say about her:

The candidacy of the third aspirant, Deputy Public Defender Ericka J. Wiley, is worthy of note, and prompt rejection. She’s a member of a triad known as the “Defenders of Justice,” financed by monied interests with radical leanings.

Independence of the judiciary is a cause that is sullied and frustrated where there are judges who lack independence from advocacy groups that seek to veer the focus of the judiciary from what the Legislature has ordained to be policy to what those groups want to establish, instead.

Wiley and her two teammates in the “Defenders of Justice” — Deputy Public Defender George A. Turner, a candidate for Office No. 37, and private practitioner La Shae Henderson, running for Office No. 97 — are pawns in a movement that seeks to place them on the bench to carry on its mission. They should be blocked by voters from gaining judgeships.

Convincing.

Office No. 12: Lynn Olsen

This recommendation is not because I think Olsen qualified, but because her opponent Haymon has an absolutely horrific reputation. This opinion is based on things I have heard from people I know, and more. The Met News quotes numerous judges saying she is rude, not smart, routinely late, and has an offensive personality. The article says:

In any event, it is readily apparent that Haymon is unfit to be a judge. She is running because Olson found her in contempt for prattling on after she had been told to be quiet, continuing to allude without warrant to unrelated and irrelevant proceedings, uttering insulting allegations, and, in general, acting like an undisciplined brat.

In the course of a diatribe at a preliminary hearing, she told Olson:

“You want to hold me in contempt because you don’t like me.”

We don’t know if she stamped her foot in uttering that line. The challenger evidently lacks maturity.

I could go on, but enough said.

Office No. 97: Sharon Ransom

Ransom has a good reputation, and seems more experienced than the other Deputy District Attorney in the race. Her other opponent, La Shae Henderson, is one of the triumvirate of defense activists mentioned above in the discussion of Office No. 48.

Office No. 130: Leslie Gutierrez

I mean, one of her opponents is Chris Darden. From the O.J. case. The guy who decided out of nowhere to ask O.J. to put on the glove. Nope. I have appeared in court with him. He did not strike me as impressive, which did not surprise me. The other guy is some random unimpressive defense lawyer.

Office No. 135: Steven Mac

Of the two Deputy District Attorneys running, my assessment is that Mac has a stronger reputation. The Met News concurs. The other guy is a nobody.

Office No. 137: Tracey Blount

The Met News says: “In this field of four candidates, Tracey M. Blount stands out as the only one fit for judicial office; we endorse her.” That analysis seems right to me.

Office No. 39: Jacob Lee

He is (rather tepidly) endorsed by the Met News. I’m not wild about the recommendation and I don’t know Lee, but the endorsement is good enough for me. One of his opponents, George A. Turner Jr., is the third member of the triumvirate of defense activists mentioned earlier.

Office No. 115: no recommendation.

I know both candidates too well. The Met News endorses Keith Koyano but says both deserve to be judges. I can’t choose between them on this blog.

As for any remaining offices, it’s complicated. That’s all I will say. Again, the Met News has endorsements. You can’t go wrong following their advice.

Just a reminder to vote for John McKinney for District Attorney.

Good luck in your choices on other races.