Golding Moves From Federal Court to Family Court Over Feud With Ex

A day in court.

County Supervisor Susan Golding spent a portion of Wednesday testifying in federal court in the money-laundering trial of her husband, Richard T. Silberman.

Meanwhile, a commissioner in Family Court issued an order awarding her $500 a month in back child support from her ex-husband, Carlsbad attorney Stanley Prowse.

Golding is seeking to collect five years’ worth of support from Prowse for their children, Vanessa, 14, and Sam, 19. The couple divorced in 1979.

Commissioner Alan Clements on Wednesday upheld a previous ruling that Prowse owes Golding slightly more than $58,000.

He rejected a bitter claim from Prowse’s wife, Joy, that Golding was reneging on an oral promise made in 1985 to waive child support. Golding denies making such a promise.

With interest set by law, Prowse’s debt to Golding is increasing by $489 a month. Thus Prowse will retire only $11 of the debt principle each month.

Golding sought back payment from Prowse in July 1989, just months after Silberman’s arrest. Still, she insists the move is not a sign that the arrest has left her in dire financial straits.

Golding on Thursday said she sought back payment because she felt Prowse should help pay Sam’s college expenses. Sam, who changed his surname to Golding, enrolled last fall at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.

After Golding sought back payment, Prowse resumed paying $432 a month for Vanessa. The $500 will be in addition to that.

Prowse’s attorney, Bruce Beals, estimated that the combined payments will take about a third of Prowse’s after-tax income.

“Susan Golding is a vindictive woman,” Joy Prowse said. “She’s turned the children against their father, but that’s not enough for her.”

Golding said any estrangement between the children and their father is not her fault, adding:

“I think this is the classic case of the new wife not wanting her husband to meet his obligations to his children.”

Union Goes to Head of PAC Class

Lost amid higher-profile races was the emergence of the San Diego teachers’ union as a major player in a school board race.

The political action committee of the San Diego Teachers Assn. spent $14,000 on an independent campaign for John de Beck, 60, a business education teacher at a continuation high school, in the District C primary.

That was three to four times as much as the union’s PAC has ever spent on a candidate, according to the union. And twice as much as De Beck’s own campaign spent.

Does this mean that De Beck, a former teacher’s union board member, will have trouble withstanding union pressure during contract negotiations and debates over teacher discipline and evaluation?

“They (the teachers) know they don’t own me,” responds De Beck, who retired last week after 37 years as a teacher.

De Beck’s opponent in the November runoff, governmental lobbyist Scott Harvey, 45, isn’t so sure about De Beck’s independence. He plans to make it an issue.

“I think it’s a clear choice,” Harvey said, “between someone who has the interests of kids in mind and someone who will have the union’s interest first and foremost.”

Broderick, the Movie

More Betty.

A two-hour movie on the Betty Broderick murder case is being planned for next spring on CBS.

The producer is Patchett Kaufman Entertainment, which has produced other made-for-television movies such as “The FBI Murders,” “Howard Beach: Making The Case for Murder,” and “In The Line of Duty.”

Los Angeles Times reporter Amy Wallace will assist in the Broderick movie project.

The movie will take its title from the headline in Wallace’s recent Los Angeles Times magazine piece on the case: “Till Murder Do Us Part.”