Candidates a Contrast in Style and Perspective

Smart and impassioned, Superior Court candidate Cathleen Drury is angry about a judicial system that she says is loaded with ex-prosecutors, has too few women on the bench and treats her family-law clients as second-class citizens.

“I wasn’t this mad five years ago,” said the 44-year-old Thousand Oaks lawyer. “There has been a degeneration little by little. That’s part of why I ran, because I can’t trust my clients going to court in Ventura County any more.”

Disciplined and serene, Chief Deputy Dist. Atty. Donald Coleman, 45, embraces his endorsements from 15 judges, a fleet of elected officials and every local law enforcement agency--and says of Drury’s concerns about family court:

“I’ve spoken to a lot of people during this campaign, and not a single person has asked me about family law. The overwhelming issue is crime. What can we do about gangs, about youth violence?”

In the only contested judicial race among 12 on the March 26 ballot, civil attorney Drury and criminal prosecutor Coleman are running to replace retiring Superior Court Judge Lawrence Storch. The job pays $107,390 a year.

The candidates offer voters a contrast in personal styles and different perspectives on the quality of some local courts.

Coleman, a career prosecutor promoted through the ranks to become one of Dist. Atty. Michael D. Bradbury’s top aides, said the race is about personal character and keeping Ventura County safe.

“It’s about an individual who is experienced and dedicated to having the criminal justice system regain its credibility, and an individual who has not shown that demonstrated ability,” he said.

“I’m endorsed by every law enforcement agency in the county,” he said, “because those people know my work and my character and the extent of my commitment.”

If elected, Coleman would be the latest in a line of county prosecutors elevated through gubernatorial appointment or election to the Ventura County bench, generally considered one of the state’s most conservative and toughest in sentencing.

Drury, an attorney for 12 years specializing in divorce cases, says county courts are badly out of balance. Just four of 27 Superior and Municipal Court judges are women. And 21 of 27 are former prosecutors.

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That translates to a uniformity of approach and a lack of experience in civil law, she said, a problem because the vast majority of Superior Court cases are civil.

“There’s a collective mentality,” she said. “It’s guilty or not guilty, right or wrong, black or white. . . . My opponent is a one-note candidate, and that note is criminal law.”

Coleman insists that judges should be chosen for their intelligence and character, not for their legal specialty or gender. “That’s developing a quota system,” he said.

But Drury’s message resonates with many local lawyers. At least 90% of members of the 1,100-lawyer Ventura County Bar Assn. are civil lawyers, and at least 25% are women, officials estimate.

“I personally, and many members of the Bar, would like to see a greater representation of the civil bar on the bench,” said local Bar Assn. President David Shain. “An intelligent judge who hasn’t been exposed to civil law can learn it. But it’s advantageous to have judges who have a gut feeling for handling civil matters.”

Shain supports Drury. “But Mr. Coleman also enjoys a good reputation,” he said. “So it’s just demographics. I would like to see a capable woman with civil experience on the bench.”

Whether such endorsements carry any clout is another matter. In 1994, the Bar supported defense attorney James Farley 3 to 1, but Assistant Dist. Atty. Colleen Toy White won in a landslide. The Bar decided to forego an endorsement this time.

“There was a bemused perception that our recommendation maybe wasn’t too influential,” Shain said.

An endorsement that does seem to carry weight is that of Bradbury. Repeatedly, judicial candidates endorsed by the veteran district attorney have easily won election.

This time, Bradbury and Sheriff Larry Carpenter are honorary co-chairmen of Coleman’s campaign. And in a recent letter to voters signed by “Mike” and “Carp,” Bradbury and Carpenter praised the candidate and noted a point of community pride.

“Don Coleman’s tough, no-nonsense approach to criminal justice issues has helped make Ventura County the safest community in the Western United States,” they wrote.

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But, as in previous races, Bradbury’s role in a judicial campaign has been challenged as improper.

“I have a problem with him pretty much being the campaign manager,” Drury said. “I think it’s an inappropriate use of his office, and absolutely indebts the candidate.”

Coleman’s many endorsements, she said, may really be a tribute to Bradbury. “The endorsements aren’t necessarily for Mr. Coleman, they’re for any candidate launched by Mr. Bradbury.”

Coleman dismissed such assertions as preposterous. There is no indication that Bradbury has ever received favors from judges he endorsed, Coleman said.

“Don got those endorsements on his own because of the kind of person he is,” Bradbury said. “I did not ask anyone for a favor.”

Judges backed by Bradbury have helped form a judiciary consistently rated highly by the local Bar, Coleman noted. Twenty-one of 29 jurists, including two court commissioners, were rated “highly qualified” in a recent poll and the rest were considered qualified. “Our bench is among the finest in the state,” Shain said.

“History shows that former prosecutors do make excellent judges,” Coleman said.

Differences between the two candidates extend beyond their legal experience.

Coleman’s demeanor is cautious but relaxed, and he is conservative in politics, dress and action. “I’m not saying anything bad about my opponent,” he said. “She’s a nice lady. . . . I’m a candidate who must be judicious.” Coleman emphasizes his role as a father of three and husband for 15 years, his leadership in youth sports and his Army tour in the Vietnam War.

Though intelligent enough to finish law school in two years instead of three, he is dry and undramatic in the way he speaks. For example, when asked about his sentencing proclivities as a judge, he said: “I will be tough but fair.”

Drury is the aggressor in this campaign, pitching herself as the underfunded outsider determined to make a difference, despite an expected 4-1 disadvantage in campaign spending. “I am not a career government employee. I represent everyday people.”

Her resume includes a six-month stint as co-host on the morning drive-time show with Dick Whittington on KNJO radio in Thousand Oaks. “I’m fun-loving,” she said.

But on her formal ballot statement she notes the “adversity in my life,” a reference she said to single motherhood and her survival of two divorces, “one from heaven and one from hell.”

It was the divorce from hell--where as a young woman she felt betrayed by her lawyer and the legal system--that helped push her into law.

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After graduating from law school in 1983, she practiced criminal law for several years before concentrating primarily on family law as a sole practitioner.

Now she finds herself practicing too often before judges without experience in her specialty.

“The judges who are sitting in family law, the majority of them don’t want to be there,” she said. “[Family law Judge Colleen] Toy White told a group of us family law attorneys, ‘None of us want a family-law assignment. You have to drag us here kicking and screaming.’ . . . That’s an insult.”

White, whose son is Coleman’s campaign manager, declined comment.

Presiding Superior Court Judge Robert C. Bradley acknowledged that “it is safe to say that many judges would prefer another assignment. . . . It’s a very stressful calendar because you’re dealing with people who are very upset with one another, and they take that upsetness out on you.”

But Bradley, who just finished two years in family court, said he enjoyed it. Two of the Superior Court’s least experienced judges--White and James Cloninger--are assigned to it now. But senior judges have also served, he said.

Because of their lack of family-law knowledge and dislike for the assignment, Drury said judges often push cases along too quickly, relying too much on the recommendations of court mediators.

That leads too often to bad decisions and unhappy parents. In one case, Drury said a family law judge agreed to a child custody schedule where no two consecutive weeks were the same for a full year.

“Any family law judge worth his or her salt would know that a schedule that is not consistent is not good for a kid,” Drury said. “But due to the lack of knowledge and experience, the judge made the wrong call.”

Drury said she can do better, and would volunteer to serve as one of two full-time judges in family court. Two court commissioners also serve there part time.

“I could help there the most,” she said. Just last week, she said, she handled a case as an arbitrator that showed the creativity she could bring to the bench.

“It was a very emotional case where two people had been fighting since 1992,” she said. “We settled the case. I was able to understand where they were each coming from by defining not just the legal issue but the emotional issue that triggered it.”

The county’s Family Law Bar Assn. has endorsed Drury’s candidacy.

Contrasting the humane approach Drury said she would bring to the bench, “a deputy district attorney has never represented a human being as a client.”

Coleman said Drury apparently misunderstands what he has done for 17 years.

“What a prosecutor does is help people survive crime, so the system becomes part of their recovery program,” he said. “They may not be our clients, but we treat them as such. We work very hard to help those people achieve justice.”

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His greatest compliment, Coleman said, came from the mother of a murder victim. “She said, ‘Thank you, Mr. Coleman. For a few seconds you brought my son back to life so the jury could know him.’ ”

Coleman’s assignments have also brought him frequently into close relationships with local residents, he said. For two years he has headed the district attorney’s 270-person Child Support Division. And for seven years he has overseen the office’s child abduction and recovery efforts.

“So I certainly have more civil experience than most prosecutors,” he said. “Clearly, if I’m assigned to a civil calendar, I have some homework to do. But you do the work necessary to catch up.”

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The Candidates

In the only contested judicial race among 12 on the March 26 ballot, civil attorney Cathleen Drury and criminal prosecutor Donald Coleman are seeking to fill a Ventura County Superior Court seat being vacated by the local bench’s longest-serving judge, Lawrence Storch, who is retiring.

Cathleen Drury

Age: 44.

Occupation: Attorney, primarily family law.

Residence: Thousand Oaks.

Education: Attended UC Santa Barbara, political science major; juris doctorate, University of La Verne College of Law, 1983.

Background: A native of New Jersey, Drury has lived in Ventura County since 1971. After graduating second in her law school class and editing the law review, she has worked as a criminal, civil and family law attorney, now specializing in divorce cases. She helped found the East County Bar Assn., chaired the East County Courthouse Development Committee and worked as a volunteer replacement for municipal and superior court judges on vacation.

Issues: Drury says local courts are out of balance because too many judges have backgrounds as prosecutors, including 10 of 15 in Superior Court. She wants more women on the bench--just four of 29 local jurists are female--and more representation from the East County. She says family courts are relegated to second-class status because judges have little experience in the area and do not want to be there.

Donald Coleman

Age: 45.

Occupation: Chief deputy district attorney.

Residence: Ventura.

Education: Bachelor’s degree in political science and public law, UCLA, 1976; juris doctorate, Southwestern University School of Law, 1978.

Background: Born and reared in Los Angeles County, Coleman moved to Ventura County in 1977. A 17-year prosecutor, he has tried more than 200 cases, including homicides. He has overseen the office’s special investigations and political corruption units, the child-abduction and recovery unit and advised county grand juries. He manages the child support division as one of five top deputies. He also teaches at a statewide college for new prosecutors.

Issues: Coleman says the chief issue is crime and what can be done to reduce violent offenses by teenagers. He favors tougher sentences for repeat offenders but also educational and recreational options for at-risk youth. More than anything, voters should consider candidates’ character, and an indication of his is unanimous support by local law enforcement agencies, Coleman says.