After Divisive Campaign for D.A., Totten Promises Healing

Riding a virtual tidal wave of community support, Ventura County’s newly elected district attorney pledged Wednesday to heal the wounds opened during a divisive campaign and promised a smooth transition when his predecessor steps down after nearly three decades.

Greg Totten, who will replace retiring Dist. Atty. Michael D. Bradbury in January, won an overwhelming victory over Ron Bamieh on Tuesday night in the most expensive local race on record.

The campaign pitted a seasoned administrator against a well-financed trial lawyer who disagreed strongly about how the prosecutor’s office should be run.

But in the end, voters in the law-and-order county, routinely ranked as the safest in the West, decided they didn’t need change.

“The electorate is wise,” Totten said. “They recognize that they have good law enforcement in this community and that they have a criminal justice system that, while not perfect, is working to keep the community safe.”

With all the precincts counted, Totten walked away with 64% of the vote despite being outspent by his opponent 2 to 1.

He won every precinct in Simi Valley, Thousand Oaks, Moorpark, Camarillo, Ventura, Ojai, Fillmore and Santa Paula.

Of 619 precincts, Bamieh picked up only 14, mostly in Oxnard.

The results suggested that Bamieh’s million-dollar campaign did little to chip away at the rock-solid support Totten received from law enforcement leaders, including Sheriff Bob Brooks, local police chiefs and several police unions.

“I think the greatest advantage that he had was the establishment,” Bamieh said. “Greg is a good candidate, no doubt about it. But in terms of the politics, he had the machinery we didn’t have.”

But in his estimation, Bradbury said experience was the critical factor.

Totten, 47, has been a prosecutor twice as long as his 36-year-old opponent and currently serves as the second-in-command of an office with 600 employees and a $40-million budget. He also is the former executive director of the California District Attorney’s Assn. in Sacramento.

“Greg had the edge on experience,” Bradbury said. “The voters took the time to look at each candidate, and that’s what made the difference.”

As the final election returns came in Tuesday night, Bradbury congratulated Totten and embraced him amid cheers at the county government center.

Across town, Bamieh sank into a folding chair at what was supposed to be his victory party in a balloon-festooned conference room at the Pierpont Inn--stunned he was running so far behind.

A senior deputy district attorney for nine years, Bamieh spent more than $1 million--almost all of it donated by his father--on mailers, signs, television and radio ads, and the services of a New York-based campaign advisor and pollster known for his work on U.S. Senate races.

Yet when the absentee votes were returned, he was well behind Totten.

His position didn’t change as the night wore on, yet he refused to concede defeat until every vote was counted.

At a private party a few miles away, Totten’s supporters celebrated late into the night.

But the victorious candidate went home to sleep and took a sober view of the race in the morning, vowing to move beyond the campaign and make the transition to district attorney as harmonious as possible.

“Now is the time for leadership and working together for a common purpose,” Totten said, dismissing any notion of retaliation against prosecutors who supported Bamieh.

“That would be wrong and I have never been somebody who is vindictive,” he said. “They supported Ron for a variety of reasons, and I hold no ill will. And I will do everything within my power to ensure that everyone who works in the office takes the same approach.”

On Wednesday morning, Bamieh said he tried to call Totten to congratulate him, but was unable to reach him.

He said he plans to return to work Monday after a short vacation with his family and is committed to prosecuting an upcoming death-penalty murder case.

But after that, he is uncertain.

“So far I’ve had three job offers,” he said, “none of which I’m going to do anything about right now.”

Questioned further about the campaign, Bamieh rejected claims that his expenditures offended voters and renewed accusations that Totten ran a dirty campaign.

“But I am not going to carry grudges,” he said. “We lost. I’ve lost things before ... You move on.”