Sandoval to run for judge
Sup. Gerardo Sandoval tells the Guardian he will run for San Francisco Superior Court judge this June, creating the first contested judge's race in many years. Sandoval, who is termed out this year and says he will complete his term on the Board of Supervisors, still hasn't decided which of the 52 judges (a third of which are up for reelection this year) he will challenge, a decision he needs to make by the end of the month when he files his paperwork. But his research shows that 30 percent of the judges here are Republican, even more are politically conservative and well-connected, and there's only one Latino on the bench. "It's a bench that does not reflect San Francisco in any meaningful way," he told us.
Sandoval has been a part of the progressive block of supervisors that swept into power in the year after Tom Ammiano's run for mayor in 1999, a backlash to the powerful institutional forces that crushed that progressive populist campaign. Those same forces, led by Gap founder Don Fisher, consultant Duane Baughman, and downtown moneyman Jim Sutton, viciously attacked Sandoval during his last reelection campaign, prompting Sandoval to unsuccessfully sue them for defamation. When the judge ordered Sandoval to pay tens of thousands of dollars in the other side's attorney's fees -- well beyond his means -- Sandoval said he realized how out of touch many judges are with the average San Franciscan. "It started in part because I sued Don Fisher," Sandoval said of the process that resulted in his decision to run for judge. Now, Sandoval is navigating the tricky judicial rules that result in almost all judges being either appointed by the governor or running in uncontested elections, a self-serving dynamic he intends to challenge: "I want to be an activist judge. I'll be a troublemaker."
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Comments (3)
Judges are supposed to be non-partisan and not announce how they're going to rule from the bench before they're seated. It seems to me that Sandoval is already violating that canon by screeching about the need for more "latinos" on the bench and how he's going to be a "troublemaker."
Just what we need - leftist activist judges joining the right-wing activist judges already on the bench. Only then will the complete and total politicization of our judiciary be complete!
Posted by Shane | January 8, 2008 08:23 PM
So long as the only judges on the Superior Court are those who are appointed by governors or those who run for a rare open seat, the third branch of government will never check the second branch to ensure that it is enforcing the laws passed by the second branch.
The only way to get the Mayor to enforce the laws passed by the Board of Supervisors is for there to be an independent check by the judiciary. The judiciary only intervenes when the interests of the rich are at stake, the rest of us are admonished to go run for mayor and win if you want to make these calls.
We need a broad spectrum of San Franciscans, from moderate through liberal and progressive to bring our voices to bear against corporate dominance.
Posted by marc | January 16, 2008 11:51 AM
"Gerardo Sandoval as a judge" is comedy in the making. San Francisco "looney left news" here we come. Does anyone in SF care that the non-partisan San Francisco Bar Association has evaluated Sandoval's credentials, and has certified him as NOT qualified? Are San Franciscans that stupid that they would vote into office a politician who is actually not qualified to be a judge?
Posted by Cruth Aitheoir | June 10, 2008 05:59 PM