Singer Holds Comfortable Lead in Superior Court Race

Fullerton’s Municipal Judge Carla M. Singer appeared headed for the Superior Court bench, according to early election returns Tuesday night.

In the race for a second Superior Court seat, Santa Ana Municipal Judge Jim Brooks was in a dead heat with private attorney Nancy A. Pollard.

And in the county’s third judicial race, Deputy Dist. Atty. Carl Biggs was well ahead of attorney Paul J. Nestor, a retired military judge, for a seat on the Municipal Court bench in Laguna Niguel.

The three runoffs were held Tuesday because none of the candidates received the simple majority needed to win outright in the March elections.

Singer, 49, had a strong lead over Deputy Dist. Atty. Tom Dunn, 41, in the race to replace retiring Judge Marvin G. Weeks. She was appointed to the Municipal Court bench in 1990 and has portrayed herself as experienced and tough on crime.

Singer was cautiously optimistic Tuesday night that her early lead would hold.

“These early numbers are very encouraging,” Singer said. “I hope the percentages continue on the same track. I look forward to the voters of this county making the right choice.”

Singer said she viewed the election as an opportunity to further the progress of women, who, she said, are dramatically underrepresented on the Superior Court bench.

Only four of the current 59 Superior Court judges are female. A fifth woman, Municipal Judge Barbara Nomoto Schumann, was elected to the bench in March and will be sworn in two months from now.

Singer is a former county prosecutor, deputy state attorney general and investigator with the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office. She had received the endorsements of numerous police associations.

Brooks, 59, was in an extremely close race Tuesday night with Pollard, 57, to replace retiring Judge Floyd H. Schenk.

Brooks is a former county prosecutor who was elected to the Municipal Court bench in 1986, and was presiding judge in 1992 and 1993. His assignments have included a recent six-month stint trying and settling civil cases in Superior Court. Pollard is president of the Coast Community College District Board of Trustees, on which she has served for 13 years. She became an attorney 14 years ago and has experience in civil, criminal and immigration law.

Talking tough on crime, Pollard said “gang members need to be treated like hardened criminals, not misguided youths.”

In the third race, Biggs, 46, would become one of four judges in the bustling Municipal Court in Laguna Niguel. During the campaign, Biggs said the judges in South County are overworked and need a bigger facility.

“I’d like to go to work in January and handle the large caseload, working toward getting a larger facility for south Orange County and increasing the staffing to handle the caseload,” Biggs said Tuesday night. “The courthouse hasn’t received any new judges or facilities in the last 10 to 15 years, and I think a priority now is to help provide for the citizens of south Orange County with the facilities that they need and I think they deserve.”

The prosecutor said his familiarity with the cases and the procedures in the South County court will make it easy for him to quickly join the fray. He would replace retiring Judge Arthur G. Koelle.

Biggs is a senior deputy district attorney, supervising the office’s Juvenile Court division. He is a former Stanislaus County deputy district attorney and a former member of the Laguna Niguel Planning Commission.

Biggs said he advocates a “truth in sentencing system” where a criminal actually serves the length of time he is sentenced.

He had kind words for his opponent, Nestor, whom he complimented for running a “clean campaign.”

“I think our race was unusual in that the candidates stuck to the issues and their qualifications rather than trying to emphasize dirt on the other candidate,” Biggs said.