Superior Court Judgeship Balloting

As sheriff and district attorney of Ventura County, we write to express our strong endorsement of Chief Assistant Dist. Atty. Kevin McGee for Superior Court judge.

Kevin McGee is by far the most qualified of the three candidates in every respect. Having worked closely with him for 16 years, we know him to be an outstanding lawyer, administrator and, at least as important, a person known for his fairness, integrity and even temperament.

As the No. 2 administrator in the district attorney’s office since 1994, Kevin McGee deserves much of the credit for the fact that Ventura County has become the safest urban area in the western United States. According to the latest FBI statistics, serious crime dropped at the rate of 5% a year during this period. These statistics conclusively rebut the disingenuous claims made by his opponents that there are too many former prosecutors on the bench.

Kevin McGee’s opponents have little to offer citizens who consider public safety a high priority. One advertises herself as a family law specialist. The other lists himself in his candidate statement as “attorney / law professor” but nowhere does he mention that for 10 years his full-time job has been as a deputy public defender, defending people accused of various crimes, including murder.

Kevin McGee is active in his church, charitable organizations and youth sports with his wife and three children. Based on our personal knowledge of Kevin McGee and an assessment of his qualifications and personal qualities, we strongly recommend him as the outstanding choice for Superior Court judge.

LARRY CARPENTER, Sheriff

MICHAEL D. BRADBURY, District Attorney

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As members of the Ventura County bench, we have a high level of interest in the professional skills, work ethic and character of the person who will become our colleague in January. We endorse Kevin J. McGee for Superior Court in Tuesday’s election.

Mr. McGee is a man of complete integrity and superb judgment. His professional skills and personal qualities are ideally suited to a judicial position.

HON. CHARLES W. CAMPBELL

HON. VINCENT J. O’NEILL JR.

HON. KEN W. RILEY

HON. JAMES CLONINGER

HON. JOHN DOBROTH

HON. THOMAS J. HUTCHINS

HON. JOHN HUNTER (RET.)

HON. DAVID LONG

HON. COLLEEN TOY WHITE

HON. BARBARA LANE

HON. REBECCA RILEY

HON. BARRY KLOPFER

HON. EDWARD BRODIE

HON. DONALD D. COLEMAN

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The May 27 letter from the Ventura County District Attorneys Assn. complaining about your endorsement of Gary Windom demonstrates why The Times has made the right recommendation.

In calling for the election of their boss, these attorneys are asking the voters to elect a man who, because of his long association with law enforcement, will favor them in court. Citizens have a duty to reject this call for partisan judges.

An independent judiciary is the cornerstone of justice. We must demand that cases be judged on the facts and the law, not on political allegiances.

The letter takes several positions that are unfair and extremely offensive to the concept of justice:

* It implies that because Mr. Windom represented “repeat felon Robert Cunningham” that he should not be a judge. The right to be represented by counsel on criminal charges is guaranteed to all of us in the 6th Amendment.

* It implies that the reason Ventura County is rated safest in the West is that we have a judiciary composed largely of former district attorneys. The subtle threat is that if we do not elect prosecutors as judges we will all be murdered in our beds. It is not the role of a judge to keep the streets safe. That is the job of our fine county law enforcement agencies. A judge’s job is to decide cases fairly, according to the law and the evidence.

The citizens of Ventura County should resist any attempt to make our Superior Court another arm of law enforcement rather than an independent body. The Times’ endorsement of Gary Windom is the correct choice.

SUSAN R. OLSON, Senior Attorney, Ventura County Public Defender’s Office

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More judges experienced in family law are needed in Ventura County, and Cathleen Drury fits the bill. About half of the civil filings are family law cases.

Kevin McGee, a prosecutor, and Gary Windom, a public defender, are both competent candidates, but Cathleen Drury, a private family law attorney, gives us an opportunity to elect a dedicated, experienced family law judge.

With more than 50% of marriages ending in divorce within seven years and our country’s enormous social problems often arising from dysfunctional families, the best possible family law judges are needed. We need child custody decisions tempered by the wisdom of experience and improved judicial continuity.

A vote for Cathleen Drury is a vote for families--and law and order. Cathleen Drury is the right person: mother of two children, resident of Thousand Oaks, more than 15 years of experience in family law. One good child custody decision might avoid one child going berserk with a gun in school and requiring a criminal prosecutor and defender.

FRANCIS L. and MARY L. PUGH, Camarillo