Countywide : Endorsements Given for Smith, Lungren

Representatives from several sheriff and police associations joined with a group of county prosecutors Wednesday to endorse Arlo Smith, the Democratic candidate for state attorney general. At the same time, Ventura County Dist. Atty. Michael D. Bradbury endorsed Republican candidate Dan Lungren at a news conference in Los Angeles.

Assistant Dist. Atty. Colleen (Toy) White said she did not see a problem in the diverse endorsements. “It’s fairly common . . . sometimes there’s a split along party lines.”

White, who represented Bradbury at Lungren’s news conference, also said she endorsed Lungren.

Deborah Elliot, Ventura County chairman of Prosecutors for Arlo Smith, a group of Ventura County deputy district attorneys, said: “The prosecution of criminals is our career. The attorney general is the top law enforcement officer of the state, and that office should be filled by a professional prosecutor, not just an ambitious politician.”

White said that while Lungren has not been a prosecuting attorney, “he has a long, distinguished record. George Deukmejian did not spend one day as a prosecutor, yet most prosecutors would agree he was an excellent attorney general.”

Other organizations endorsing Smith are the Ventura County Sheriffs’ Assn., Simi Valley Police Officers Assn., Ventura Police Officers Assn. and Oxnard Police Officers Assn.