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Judicial Elections:
‘Defenders of Justice’ Wiley, Turner Appear to Be Winners
Ransom, Huerta, Blount Outdistance Competitors for Los Angeles Superior Court Open Seats; Gascón Defeated
By Roger M. Grace, editor
Heavy spending by a left-of-center group has brought apparent election victories to two deputy public defenders— Ericka J. Wiley and George A. Turner Jr.—in their quests for Los Angeles Superior Court open seats.
Balloting ended Tuesday but there are votes-by-mail which, if postmarked by election day, are still to be counted and the tally, so far, is incomplete. However, the wide vote spread provides an indication that Wiley (who had this year’s highest-spending campaign, in seeking Office No. 48) and Turner (running for Office No. 39) prevailed in their contests.
Wiley and Turner were denominated “Defenders of Justice” on a website and in campaign materials—a description used in 2022 by four candidates, one of whom—Holly Hancock—prevailed at the polls.
Victories also appear to have been captured this year by Deputy District Attorneys Sharon Ransom (Office No. 97), Georgia Huerta (Office No. 135), and Sharon Blount (Office No. 137).
Winning by the highest margin was Ransom, with 64.24% of the vote as of mid-day yesterday.
Slate Mailers
Over a period of decades, a major boost was provided to judicial candidates endorsed by the Los Angeles Times, but that changed with advent of slate mailers in the late 1990s. Candidates who spent the most, getting their names on those campaign pieces, enjoyed a marked advantage.
That ended with the pandemic and all voters receiving mail-in ballots. With slate mailers arriving at homes after the occupants had voted or appreciably in advance of their returning ballots, the Times’s endorsements regained efficacy in the 2020 and 2022 elections.
This year, however, two of the five judicial candidates endorsed by the Times—private practitioner Steve Napolitano (defeated by Turner) and Deputy District Attorney Steven Yee Mac (beaten by Deputy District Attorney Georgia Huerta)—lost, as did District Attorney George Gascón, to whom the newspaper lent major support. Gascón was toppled by private practitioner Nathan Hochman.
Latest Spending Reports
The latest reports on campaign expenditures, filed with the Secretary of State’s Office, cover the period from Jan. 1 through Oct. 19. Office-seekers who received less than $1,000 in contributions are exempted from the filing requirement.
Wiley’s committee said it spent $343,411.64 this year. The committee for her opponent, Deputy District Attorney Renee Rose, reported expenditures of $96,829.24.
A report filed by Turner for Judge 2024 shows spending this year in the amount of $241,682.87 while Napolitano’s committee filed no statement of expenditures.
The campaigns of Turner and Wiley, and initially that of private practitioner La Shae Henderson, received major backing from Tides Advocacy which provides funding to various causes, many espousing radical views. Neither Henderson nor the political action committee (“PAC”) providing funds to the “Defenders of Justice”—a description used by Tides Advocacy’s candidates—has responded to inquiries as to why there was a parting of ways.
A report shows that “Justice PAC by La Defensa, a Project of Tides Advocacy” spent $354,883.17—much of the money going to Google and to Meta Platforms for digital ads—and donated $256,795.63, each, to the coffers of Wiley and Turner.
Film producer Patty Quillin—an activist/philanthropist and wife of the billionaire chair of Netflix—gave $150,000 to the PAC.
Other Races
There was this spending in other races, as of Oct. 19:
Deputy District Attorney Sharon Ransom, $38,742.99; criminal defense attorney La Shae Henderson (running as a “Deputy Public Defender”), $77,360.67.
Deputy District Attorneys Georgia Huerta, $36,515.53; Deputy District Attorney Steven Yee Mac, $44,840.52.
Deputy County Counsel Tracey M. Blount, $27,505.38; Texas A&M Law School Associate Dean Luz E. Herrera, $133,536.53.
In recent years, female candidates and those with Hispanic names have had campaign advantages, which could have contributed to Huerta’s victory over Mac, who outspent her. Yet, neither a Hispanic surname nor heftier spending enabled Herrera to draw a majority of the ballots in her race.
Ransom Comments
Ransom remarked yesterday:
“The judicial races this year have shown that voters are highly engaged and ready to make thoughtful choices about our court system. I am honored to have been elected to serve as a Superior Court judge in Los Angeles County.
“Having spent the past 18 years as a deputy district attorney, I am grateful for this opportunity to bring my commitment to justice, empathy, and fairness to the Superior Court. Our campaign drew support from a diverse coalition, including unions, police associations, and bipartisan supporters, reflecting a strong mandate for building a fairer justice system for our community.”
Rose said:
“I wish to thank all my friends, colleagues, family and the LA community for their support during my run for the Bench. I am proud to continue my work as a Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office prosecutor where I can be a voice for the victims of crime.”
She added:
“And congratulations to Ericka Wiley on her victory!”
Pundit’s Reflections
A close observer of judicial elections, denominated “Pundit III” in Tuesday’s edition of the MetNews was quoted as predicting victories for Napolitano, Rose, Ransom, Mac, and Blount. That person said yesterday:
“I had been on a 90+% winning prediction streak for the last 6 or 7 election cycles. Fell off the bucking bronco hard yesterday (Only 2 out of 5 correct predictions) I was 13 out of 15 in the primary. Hence, 15 out of 20 for this election cycle. 75% is okay for governmental work.
“For the General Election, I assumed (wrongly) that Gascón would bring down the deputy public defenders. Hochman won in landslide, but the DPDs won 2 out of 3, rather comfortably.
“We live in a Topsy-Turvey World!
“Oh well, there is always speculating on the stock market or Bitcoin.”
Copyright 2024, Metropolitan News Company