ELECTIONS / MUNICIPAL COURT : Bambrick, Finkel in November Runoff

Santa Monica Community College Trustee James M. Bambrick and Santa Monica City Councilman David B. Finkel will face off in the November election for Santa Monica Municipal Court judge.

Bambrick, a civil litigator, was the top vote-getter of four candidates in Tuesday’s primary election, collecting 5,590 votes, or 30.2% of the total. Finkel was second with 5,077 votes, or 27.4%.

West Los Angeles Municipal Court Commissioner Norman Perry Tarle was third with 4,858 votes, or 16.3%, and tenant attorney Sonya Bekoff Molho finished fourth with 3,013 votes, or 16.3%.

Bambrick, 50, and Finkel, 58, attributed their success to their longtime community activity.

“In my heart I believe it is that I have lived in the city for a long time and people know me,” said Bambrick, who has lived in Santa Monica since he was 2 and has held elective office since 1979. “People in Santa Monica want to know what you look like and what you stand for.”

“The two old guys got into the runoff,” said Finkel, a labor and civil lawyer who has lived in the city since 1963 and been in public office since 1981. “The two candidates are people whom residents know are active in the community.”

The runoff in November is expected to be different if for no other reason than it will be part of a large local ballot. The judicial race may not get any more attention than this time around, but a larger voter turnout is expected.

On the ballot will be three of seven City Council seats--including one held by Finkel--four of five Rent Control Board seats, four of seven college board of trustees seats--including Bambrick’s--four of seven seats on the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District, and as many as five initiatives.

“The candidates for the judicial race will have to swim in a sea of political water because there will be so much more activity,” Finkel said. “Will anybody get a chance to think about judges?”

“We will have to fight to get the voters’ attention,” Bambrick said.