LOCAL ELECTIONS / JUDICIAL RACES : Three Municipal Court Seats Contested : Nine candidates are seeking two vacancies. A challenge to a sitting judge is also underway.

Judicial elections are normally quiet and nondescript, but two vacancies on the Municipal Court bench, plus a challenge for a third seat, promise to make for lively contests in the June 2 election.

Nine candidates are vying for the two vacant posts, while one incumbent Municipal Court judge is fending off a challenger who says he doesn’t like the way the judge hands down sentences.

In Harbor Municipal Court in Newport Beach, Judge Margaret R. Anderson of the North County Municipal Court in Fullerton, private attorneys Debra Allen and Cameron J. Quinn and prosecutors Vickie L. Hix and Mike Jacobs are battling for the seat being vacated by Judge Selim S. Franklin, who is retiring.

In Central Municipal Court in Santa Ana, county prosecutors Michael J. Pear and Donna L. Crandall and private attorneys John F. Anderson and Salvador Sarmiento are competing for the seat left open by Judge Jacquelyn D. Thomason’s retirement.

None of the 18 Superior Court judges up for reelection this year is facing any opposition, and none will be on the ballot.

Because state judges are usually appointed by the governor for six-year terms, open seats on the bench are few and far between. Once seated, incumbents are infrequently challenged. Vacant seats are even rarer. In 1986, there was only one open seat in Central Municipal Court, and James M. Brooks won that election.

Brooks, now the presiding judge of the Municipal Court, is the only incumbent facing an opponent. The challenge comes from attorney David E. Hosmer, who says he is seeking the Central Municipal Court seat because he is unhappy with the way Brooks has handed down sentences.

“I’m running because we need to return fairness and equity in sentences back to this courtroom,” Hosmer said.

The 40-year-old attorney complained that Brooks has unevenly punished criminals, giving light sentences to drunk drivers while handing out stiff penalties to anti-abortion protesters.

“I want to make a difference, so I decided to throw my hat in the ring,” Hosmer said. He touted his nearly 10 years as a civil attorney in the county as qualifying him for the job.

Brooks, however, is unimpressed with his opponent’s qualifications or reason for running.

“No one knows this guy,” said Brooks. The judge said he believes that Hosmer’s candidacy is linked to abortion foes upset with the way Brooks sentenced Operation Rescue protesters for failing to disperse during a Tustin demonstration in January, 1991.

“To me it’s not an issue,” Brooks said. “The cases didn’t even deal with abortion.”

Although admitting that he does not think Brooks’ sentences in those cases were fair, Hosmer said he is not a candidate representing anti-abortion groups.

Brooks said he believes that his job experience outweighs that of his opponent.

“For 5 1/2 years, I’ve been doing the job--with great results, I might add in all modesty,” the 54-year-old jurist said. “I’m proud of my reputation as a fair and hard-working guy.”

Unlike that race, where Brooks has an edge over his opponent because he is an incumbent, the other two races are free-for-alls.

In Harbor Municipal Court, Judge Margaret R. Anderson, who currently sits in Municipal Court in Fullerton and is not up for reelection until 1996, has decided to run for Franklin’s vacated seat because she wants to work closer to her Huntington Beach home. If she loses, she retains her North County seat; if she wins, an appointment by the governor to take her place is likely.

Although Anderson, 59, has the advantage of being a sitting judge, most of the other contenders are “worthy opponents,” she said, adding that she’s taking nothing for granted in the election.

Her strength, Anderson said, comes from her experience sitting on the bench for the past eight years and presiding over hundreds of civil and criminal trials. She has argued and presided in Harbor Municipal Court and therefore, she said, knows “the judges, the people and the system of the court and how it works.”

“I’m the only candidate with a proven track record,” Anderson said.

Debra Allen, 44, of Corona del Mar said her seven years of civil litigation experience would be a plus to a court whose docket is 15% to 20% civil cases. Currently, each Harbor Municipal Court judge rotates once every four years for a six-month period of hearing civil cases exclusively. If elected, Allen said, she would request to hear the majority of the civil caseload on a full-time basis.

“I would be the only person on the court who had complete civil experience,” she said.

Because she spent her final year in law school in 1985 working as a research clerk for the 4th District Court of Appeal and has sat as judge pro tem on traffic court cases, Allen said, she could also preside over criminal cases.

Cameron J. Quinn, 44, of Costa Mesa, who has also presided as judge pro tem in the county’s Municipal courts, said he has handled both criminal and civil litigation since 1979. Therefore, he said, he has the necessary balance for the bench.

Quinn said he wants to be a judicial voice in the Harbor Municipal Court district “because my family lives in this district . . . and I want to deal strongly with criminals so as to protect our streets for the family.”

The two county prosecutors in the race both stress having trial experience.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Mike Jacobs, 42, of Irvine has been with the county since 1976, and he has tried more than 100 cases, 26 of which were homicide cases.

“If you have never tried a murder case, how are you going to preside over them?” he said.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Vickie L. Hix, who at 36 is the youngest candidate, said she is seeking election because she feels that the public has lost faith in the court system. As a prosecutor for the past 10 years, Hix has handled criminal jury trials as well as enforced civil child support orders. She said she too can preside over both civil and criminal trials.

Hix, of Orange, said she feels that lately jurists are not giving convicted criminals sentences that are sufficiently harsh. “I’m frustrated with the leniency that is shown to criminals in our court system,” she said.

In the other Central Municipal Court race, attorney John F. Anderson, one of the candidates, bluntly said: “We’re all qualified for the job . . . but I’m the most qualified.”

Anderson, 50, of Anaheim, a former Fullerton police officer and county deputy district attorney, has a private practice and occasionally tries Municipal Court cases as a judge pro tem.

“I’ve sat in every seat in the courtroom,” he said. “I have a broader and longer experience than the others.”

Deputy Dist. Atty. Donna L. Crandall also emphasized the fact that she has experience from different “perspectives” in the courtroom, having been a Superior Court clerk for 12 years.

Crandall, 48, of Santa Ana, who currently works in the sexual assault and child abuse unit in the district attorney’s office, said that after eight years as a prosecutor she feels “it’s time to move on.”

Crandall said she has the “character for fairness and firmness” needed by judges.

For Deputy Dist. Atty. Michael J. Pear, experience is important, but he said voters should also compare the candidates’ educational backgrounds when making a choice for judge.

“The issues don’t really divide the candidates in a judge’s race,” said Pear, 46, of Newport Beach. “The best you can hope for is a judge that’s fair and follows the law.”

Pear said he believes that his “legal knowledge,” along with his 16 years of experience in the district attorney’s office, makes him the best candidate. He added that he is the only one of 190 deputy district attorneys in the county to argue a case before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Salvador Sarmiento of Santa Ana, a family law attorney, also stressed education as an important qualification. Unlike his two opponents, Sarmiento said, he lives within the jurisdiction of Central Municipal Court.

“The idea that a judge resides in the district he serves is a very good idea,” he said. “You understand the community better.”

Sarmiento, 40, also pointed out that if he were elected, he would be only the second Latino judge on the Municipal Court bench.

“Having another Latino on the bench will be helpful,” he said. “It helps in being a role model and breaking stereotypes. It helps (younger Latinos) realize that they might be able to do something with their lives, that we’re not all dishwashers or landscapers.”

Municipal Court Elections

Here are the candidates running for three seats on the Orange County Municipal Court bench in the June 2 election:

CENTRAL MUNICIPAL COURT OFFICE NO. 1 (Santa Ana)

JAMES M. BROOKS

Home: Laguna Niguel

Age: 54

Occupation: Central Municipal Court judge

Background: Elected to the Municipal Court bench in 1986; currently serving as presiding Municipal Court judge; served as assistant presiding judge, 1990-1991; served as an Orange County deputy district attorney, 1973-87; served as a Los Angeles deputy city attorney, 1972-73, graduated from Southwestern University Law School.

Priorities: Wants to be tough on repeat offenders, believes cases should be tried on time without undue delays or continuances, wants to take back the streets from drug dealers and gangs.

DAVID E. HOSMER

Home: Laguna Niguel

Age: 40

Occupation: Attorney

Background: Has been in private law practice since 1983, concentrating on civil litigation as well as tax-related and business law; graduated from Coburn School of Law at Oral Roberts University, received a master’s degree in business from Florida Atlantic University.

Priorities: Wants to bring fairness and equity to criminal sentencing, advocates being tough on drunk drivers, wants to remove presiding judge from bench.

CENTRAL MUNICIPAL COURT OFFICE NO. 9 (Santa Ana)

JOHN F. ANDERSON

Home: Anaheim

Age: 50

Occupation: General practice attorney

Background: Has been in private practice from 1975 to present; served as an Orange County deputy district attorney, 1972-75; was an officer in the Fullerton Police Department, 1966-1972; has served as judge pro tem for West and North County municipal courts and Orange County Superior Court, graduated from Western State University College of Law.

Priorities: Believes in “Do Crime--Do Time,” committed to preventing the early release of convicted criminals, wants to devise ways to unclog court system and address jail overcrowding.

DONNA L. CRANDALL

Home: Santa Ana

Age: 48

Occupation: Orange County deputy district attorney

Background: Has served in the district attorney’s office from 1984 to the present; has served in the Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Unit from 1991 to the present; served as Superior Court clerk, 1972-84, graduated from Western State University College of Law.

Priorities: Advocates victims’ rights, believes in a more efficient and responsive judicial system.

MICHAEL J. PEAR

Home: Newport Beach

Age: 46

Occupation: Orange County deputy district attorney

Background: Has served in the district attorney’s office from 1976 to present; currently serves as a felony deputy district attorney at Harbor Municipal Court; was in general law practice, 1971-76; graduated from Hastings College of the Law, San Francisco.

Priorities: Believes in increased penalties for repeat offenders, advocates restitution for victims, believes in minimizing delays and increasing consideration for victims and witnesses.

SALVADOR SARMIENTO

Home: Santa Ana

Age: 40

Occupation: Family law attorney

Background: Has been in private practice from 1982 to present; served as a state public defender, 1981-82; worked in legal services in California and Texas, 1976-1981, graduated from UCLA Law School.

Priorities: Believes in maximum penalties for crimes of violence and injury, wants to ease jail overcrowding by putting nonviolent offenders to work on supervised public projects, wants to get repeat drunk drivers’ licenses permanently revoked.

HARBOR MUNICIPAL COURT OFFICE NO. 1 (Newport Beach)

MARGARET R. ANDERSON

Home: Huntington Beach

Age: 59

Occupation: Municipal judge

Background: Elected judge of North County Municipal Court in Fullerton, 1984, reelected in 1990; served for three years as both Municipal and Superior Court judge by agreement with both prosecution and defense bar, 1988-90; served as an Orange County public defender, 1978-1984; graduated from Western State University College of Law.

Priorities: Believes in getting tough with drunk drivers, especially repeat offenders, violent criminals and convicted gang members, believes victims must be protected and compensated for their losses.

DEBRA ALLEN

Home: Corona del Mar

Age: 44

Occupation: Private attorney-arbitrator, Orange County Bar Assn.

Background: Has been a private civil attorney from 1985 to present; served as planning commissioner in Newport Beach, 1979-83; served as judge pro tem in Orange County municipal courts, 1989-90; currently serving as president-elect of Corona del Mar Residents Assn., graduated from Western State University College of Law.

Priorities: Advocates tough sentences for convicted criminals, especially repeat offenders; supports death penalty, opposes long court delays.

MIKE JACOBS

Home: Irvine

Age: 42

Occupation: Orange County deputy district attorney

Background: Has served in the district attorney’s office from 1976 to present; organized first prosecution DNA/Forensic Evidence Unit in California; served on the Orange County Deputy District Attorneys Assn. Board of Directors, 1990-91, graduated from Loyola Marymount University School of Law.

Priorities: Believes in protecting victims’ rights, advocates being tough but fair, wants to bring experience as a courtroom litigator to the bench.

VICKIE L. HIX

Home: Orange

Age: 36

Occupation: Orange County senior deputy district attorney

Background: Has served in the district attorney’s office from 1982 to present; has served as a criminal procedure instructor for police officers, lawyers and citizens; has served as a member of the Orange County Narcotic Enforcement Team, 1986 to present, graduated from Washington University, St. Louis, Mo.

Priorities: Wants to be a fair-minded judge, advocates being tough on drug dealers.

CAMERON J. QUINN

Home: Costa Mesa

Age: 44

Occupation: General practice attorney

Background: Has been in private law practice from 1979 to present; has served as a judge pro tem at Harbor and West County municipal courts, 1985 to present; has served as legal consultant for nonprofit organizations, graduated from Pepperdine University School of Law.

Priorities: Wants to provide a “community friendly” court, believes that those convicted of crimes must be dealt with as severely as is consistent with the law.