San Gabriel Valley : Judge Is Lone Judicial Incumbent to Lose

Challenger Fred Rotenberg’s marginal victory in the Pasadena Municipal Court race blew to pieces the theory that nice guys always finish last.

A self-described “affable” attorney, Rotenberg won the unprecedented support of Judge Elvira Mitchell’s colleagues and ousted the only judicial incumbent to lose a seat in Tuesday’s election.

A 10-year veteran who once ran unopposed, Mitchell could not be reached for comment Wednesday. But earlier, Mitchell said she spent most of her campaign time and money fending off offensive comments from fellow Judges Judson Morris and Kevil Martin even though she dismissed the verbal blows as “outrageous lies.”

Her campaign managers said the negative statements and Mitchell’s refusal to “get in the gutter” with her opponent caused her fall.

“Unfortunately, in this business, negative campaign tactics are what works,” said Hal Dash, of Cerrell and Associates, a campaign management group that had not represented a losing incumbent judicial candidate in 18 years. “Her opponent launched a series of negative attacks against Mitchell--distorting his own endorsements, and Mitchell never mentioned his name.”

The challenger’s camp agreed that the tough rhetoric helped Rotenberg win the seat. “I don’t think it was dirty. . . . It was unusual,” said Victor Greigo, who ran Rotenberg’s campaign. “How can an incumbent’s colleagues go against the incumbent? That told a lot about the incumbent.”

But Municipal Court Counselor Ed Bryant said the mudslinging only told him that the wrong people were speaking.

“You have to look at what kind of campaign Rotenberg ran. A lot of things were not done ethically,” said Bryant, who largely attributes Rotenberg’s win to negative mailers and statements from Morris and Martin. “The old boys ganged up on her and got her out of here. It’s a sad day for the Pasadena Municipal Court when you can’t run on your qualifications and win.”

Rotenberg, 40, said he wanted to be a judge since high school. He has been practicing law in Pasadena with his wife, Lori, for 13 years. He has served as judge pro tem for various county courts since 1986. In 1994, he was appointed commissioner pro tem in Pasadena Municipal Court. “I’m excited,” he said. “It was a lot of hard work, and there were a lot of good people working for me.”