Judge Bradley Fails to File by Deadline to Seek 3rd Term

Embattled Superior Court Judge Robert Bradley will not seek reelection to the post he has held for 13 years, having failed Wednesday to meet a 5 p.m. deadline to declare his candidacy for a third, six-year term.

Bradley, 56, had declared himself a candidate for the June 2 election just days after returning to work last month after two drunk driving arrests, which were separated by a stay in an alcohol rehabilitation program.

However, the veteran jurist has since been suspended from his duties after apparently showing up for work under the influence of alcohol, a setback that again sent him to a treatment center. Bradley first joined the Municipal Court bench in 1983 and was appointed the next year to the Superior Court.

Ventura County elections chief Bruce Bradley said he wasn’t surprised that the judge did not try to retain his seat, noting that the eight other incumbent judges on the ballot declared their candidacies just days after the filing period opened Jan. 26.

Moreover, with eight other seats up for grabs, the elections chief said it is significant that only Bradley’s post drew any challengers.

“I think it’s key that nobody filed against any of the other judges, but three people are running for his seat,” said Bradley, who is no relation to the judge. “They must have felt he was vulnerable.”

Because there will be no incumbent on the ballot for Bradley’s judgeship, potential candidates for that seat now have an extra five days--until 5 p.m. Monday--to declare their intention to run for the Superior Court seat, which pays $107,390.

So far, Chief Assistant Dist. Atty. Kevin McGee, Thousand Oaks family lawyer Cathleen Drury and Deputy Public Defender Gary Windom have filed to run for that post.

In the other judgeships up for reelection, the incumbents will run unopposed on the June ballot.

They include Superior Court judges Charles W. Campbell Jr., Ken W. Riley and David W. Long, and Municipal Court judges Herbert Curtis III, John E. Dobroth, Barry B. Klopfer , Roland N. Purnell and Edward F. Brodie.

In statewide legislative races, no Ventura County resident had filed to run against state Sen. Jack O’Connell (D-San Luis Obispo). The same was true for the Assembly seats held by Brooks Firestone (R-Los Olivos) and Tom McClintock (R-Northridge).

However, challengers could be filing their papers in other parts of the district. In O’Connell’s case, for example, his district stretches from Ventura County to San Luis Obispo County, and challengers could be filing in other areas.

Likewise for McClintock, whose 38th District straddles Ventura and Los Angeles counties.

Firestone’s case is a little different. Not only could challengers have filed in other jurisdictions, but the filing deadline for that race has been extended until Monday because Firestone is not seeking reelection.

An heir to the Firestone tire fortune, the Santa Barbara County resident decided against running again for the Assembly to enter a primary campaign to fill the congressional seat left vacant by the death of Rep. Walter Capps.

Of the local legislative races, the 37th Assembly District has produced the most crowded field. Eight candidates are vying to fill the seat being vacated by Assemblyman Nao Takasugi (R-Oxnard), who was forced to step down by term limits.

The GOP challengers in the heavily Republican district include Tony Strickland, an aide to McClintock; Rich Sybert, an attorney and former top aide to Gov. Pete Wilson; H. Jere Robings, formerly an Edison Co. official and aide to Rep. Elton Gallegly; Toni Young, mayor pro tem of Port Hueneme; Jon Williams, a Camarillo podiatrist; and Moorpark resident John P. Lane.

Ventura County rancher and educator Rosalind McGrath is the lone Democrat in the race, and Thousand Oaks resident Michael Howard Farris is representing the Reform Party.