3 of 4 Contests Appear Headed for a Runoff

A Municipal Court judge making her second bid for a Superior Court post held a commanding lead over two opponents Tuesday night, while the races for three other judicial seats seemed destined for November runoffs.

With more than 20% of the returns counted, Santa Ana Municipal Judge Barbara Nomoto Schumann had more than the 50% of the vote needed to capture a seat on the Superior Court bench. She held a significant lead over William McNames, a Superior Court research attorney, and Daniel Charles Dutcher, who sat as a judge for 12 years in Westminster Municipal Court before losing the seat in a bitterly contested 1994 race.

Schumann, 45, who was appointed to the Municipal Court in 1979, narrowly lost a previous race two years ago. She was optimistic but reluctant to claim victory Tuesday night.

“After the disappointment in 1994, I’ve really tried hard not to be overly hopeful for fear of being disappointed again, so the results tonight are very gratifying,” Schumann said. “All i can think about is how much I owe so many people who helped me.”

The race for two other Superior Court seats and a Laguna Niguel Municipal Court post appeared headed for runoffs, with none of the candidates nearing the simple majority needed to win. A runoff would be held Nov. 5 between the top two vote-getters in each race.

In the bid for one Superior Court seat, only a few percentage points separated Nancy A. Pollard, a private attorney and longtime trustee of Coast Community College District, veteran Santa Ana Municipal Judge Jim Brooks and Westminster Municipal Commissioner Clancy Haynes.

In another Superior Court contest, Fullerton Municipal Judge Carla M. Singer, Deputy Dist. Atty. Tom Dunn and Santa Ana Municipal Judge Richard W. Stanford Jr. were locked in an extremely close race.

In the Laguna Niguel Municipal Court race, Deputy Dist. Atty. Carl Biggs held a sizable lead over five rivals, but was still below the majority needed. Laguna Niguel Municipal Commissioner Lyle J. Robertson and private attorneys Paul J. Nestor, Steve Corris, Max De Liema and Thomas R. Roll were battling for second place.

In all, nine candidates, four of them current Municipal Court judges, were seeking to fill the seats of three retiring Superior Court judges. And a rare election season judicial opening at Laguna Niguel Municipal Court drew the crowded field of six.