Thursday, January 22, 2004
Page 3
Judge Wesley, Two Prosecutors Report Receiving ‘Well Qualified’ Ratings From County Bar
By a MetNews Staff Writer
Judge David Wesley and two prosecutors running for Los Angeles Superior Court open seats have received the highest possible rating from the Los Angeles County Bar Association, their consultants said yesterday.
Joe Cerrell of Cerrell Associates said Wesley and Deputy District Attorney Judith L. Meyer were rated “well qualified” by the association’s Judicial Elections Evaluation Committee. Fred Heubscher said Deputy District Attorney Laura Priver received the same rating.
Wesley is being challenged for reelection by Deputy District Attorney Daniel Bershin, retired Deputy District Attorney Herb Lapin, and Los Angeles Police Dept. Sgt. Kevin Burke, a former Orange County prosecutor.
Meyer is one of five candidates vying to succeed Judge James Wright. The others are Department of Industrial Relations attorney P. Michael Erwin, Superior Court Commissioner Donna Groman, Deputy District Attorney Carol Najera, and Sherman Oaks attorney Mitchell W. Roth.
Priver is running against Deputy District Attorney Larry Diamond and Workers’ Compensation Judge John Gutierrez for the seat currently held by Judge Nancy Brown. Brown will retire Jan. 31.
The LACBA group’s initial ratings are recommended by subcommittees, but candidates who are tentatively rated less than well-qualified receive notification and an opportunity to contest the rating before the full committee.
A total of 36 candidates are running for nine seats in the March 2 primary election. Four judges—Richard Van Dusen, Wesley, Dan Oki, and Chesley McKay—have drawn a total of eight challengers, and the remaining 24 candidates are competing for five open seats.
Several candidates said they have yet to be interviewed by the LACBA committee.
Copyright 2004, Metropolitan News Company