ELECTIONS ’88 : 2 Incumbent Judges Run Far Ahead of Challengers; London Leads Klein
Two incumbent judges handily held off challengers Tuesday night. With half the vote counted, Superior Court Judge Robert A. Knox received more than 75% of the vote in his race against James E. Wilkoski, a Newport Beach lawyer. North Municipal Judge Sidney Maleck led Santa Ana lawyer Michael A. Leversen by more than 20 percentage points.
In a third race, Deputy Dist. Atty. Brett G. London led Garden Grove lawyer Gerald L. Klein by more than 10 percentage points for a vacant West Municipal Court seat.
Knox, 60, was the only Superior Court judge to be challenged in this month’s election.
In North Municipal Court, Leversen, 40, had criticized Maleck, 64, as a poor judge. Leversen received a higher rating than Maleck in a recent Orange County Bar Assn. poll, but it is rare in the county for an incumbent judge to be unseated by a challenger.
Maleck was appointed to the bench in 1986.
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