Capizzi Is Vying for 1 of 7 Open County Judgeships

An unprecedented number of Orange County judgeships are up for grabs next month in judicial elections that feature a bid by the county’s former top prosecutor and a rare attempt to oust a sitting judge.

Candidates are competing for seven Superior Court judgeships, six of them open because of a rash of retirements. The seventh seat is held by incumbent H. Warren Siegel, who is being challenged by two candidates.

Though judicial races go largely unnoticed by voters, some of this year’s contests have garnered attention for negative campaigning usually reserved for higher-profile races.

The most closely watched contest pits former Dist. Atty. Michael R. Capizzi against Stephanie George, a deputy district attorney who specializes in sexual assault cases.

The race heated up in December when Capizzi supporters tried to remove George from the race. They claimed George should have used her married--instead of maiden--name on the ballot. A judge threw out the case in a decision that gave George much-needed publicity against her better-known former boss.

Capizzi, 60, said he is far more experienced than the 41-year-old George, and that his record is a “known commodity” in the county. “Experience is a significant factor. I have 35 years’ worth trying a wide variety of cases,” said Capizzi, who has been in private practice since stepping down from office in 1998.

But George, who has been been a prosecutor for 15 years, said Capizzi’s mostly administrative work as top prosecutor doesn’t necessarily suit him for a judgeship. “He has not tried cases or appeared in court for years and years and years,” George said.

In another race, Siegel is trying to hold on to his judgeship in the face of challenges from Fred W. Anderson and Mark E. Farrar, both private attorneys.

Anderson, a 57-year-old consumer-law attorney, said Siegel does not belong on the bench because he lacks the proper judicial temperament. “He’s had so many problems controlling his temper in court. . . . Either he can’t or won’t,” Anderson said.

Siegel dismissed the criticism, saying he has the support of most of his fellow judges. He said complaints about judges’ behavior are inevitable, but are not reflective of ability. “As a judge, you can’t make everybody happy,” he said.

In other races, veteran gang prosecutor Marc Kelly is running against Yorba Linda Mayor John M. Gullixson.

Jan Nolan, who was the highest-ranking female prosecutor under Capizzi, is battling three opponents: Dan McNerney, a veteran homicide unit prosecutor; Michael J. Cassidy, a juvenile court referee and former police officer; and Jamie Duarte, a private attorney and former vice president of the Hispanic Bar Assn. of Orange County.

Senior Deputy Dist. Atty. John Conley, a prosecutor for more than 27 years, is also running against Erick L. “Rick” Larsh, a Superior Court commissioner since 1997.

Another Superior Court commissioner, Michael A. Leversen, is being challenged by Tom Dunn, a senior judicial attorney for the California Court of Appeal.