Sonoma County court commissioner and local attorney vie for judge seat in rare election

For the first time in over a decade, Sonoma County voters are poised to fill a pair of open seats on the Superior Court bench.

Local defense attorney John LemMon and Court Commissioner Laura Passaglia McCarthy are vying for one of the two Superior Court posts in the June election.

The other race features Joseph Passalacqua, a defense attorney, and Oscar Pardo, a civil litigator.

The county’s last election to fill a seat on the county’s superior court bench was in 2010, according to Sonoma County Registrar of Voters Deva Proto.

A judge’s race typically only reaches the ballot when a vacancy coincides with the general election, Proto said. Superior Court judges, who can also be appointed by the governor, serve six-year terms and must then run for reelection.

On Monday, Passaglia McCarthy, 42, and LemMon, 58, sat down for separate interviews with a reporter and members of the Press Democrat’s Editorial Board.

“The courts are your bastion. They belong to us as a community,” Passaglia McCarthy said, addressing why the race is important for voters. “It’s the bastion you hope you don’t need, but when you need it you’d like it to be functional and qualified.”

LemMon, who lives in Glen Ellen with his wife and two sons, touted his 33 years of experience practicing law as a prosecutor and criminal defense attorney.

In the early 1990’s LemMon spent a few years working as a member of the Sonoma County District Attorney's staff and as a Deputy City Attorney in Sonoma, before starting his own practice and taking on civil and criminal defense cases.

LemMon also served as a temporary judge for the Sonoma County bench from 1993 to 2011.

“I've been a defense attorney, I've been a civil plaintiff's attorney and a civil defendant’s attorney. I've also done administrative law,” said LemMon. “So, I bring a breadth of experience to the position that my opponent does not bring.”

In early 2014, LemMon was arrested for soliciting sex during a prostitution sting carried out by Santa Rosa police. The sting involved a police detective posing as a fictional woman on an adult website, police said. The operation led to the arrest of 10 people in addition to LemMon.

Later that year LemMon completed a diversion program for first-time offenders and the charges were dismissed.

On Monday, LemMon asserted that he was innocent of illegally soliciting sex. He said he had made an appointment for a massage.

He said the experience had “not jaded” him “no way or the other” regarding the criminal justice system.

He called his arrest a “non-issue.”

“I was arrested, yes, I pleaded not guilty and that case was dismissed and that record was sealed,” LemMon said. “And under the criminal justice system of the United States of America one is innocent until proven guilty, and I’m therefore innocent. I’ve done nothing wrong.”

Passaglia McCarthy said LemMon’s arrest is something voters should consider “when assessing the quality of his character or the level of good judgment that he possesses.”

In October 2021, Passaglia McCarthy was sworn in as a Superior Court commissioner and in the months since has presided over misdemeanor cases in the criminal division.

She said her experience has made her confident in her ability to run a courtroom and she has enjoyed the transition from the role of prosecutor to commissioner where she is making decisions.

“Now I advocate for something very different. I don’t advocate at all for a position other than I advocate for the law, and the rule of law,” Passaglia McCarthy said. “I advocate for fairness, that everyone gets to be heard, that everybody feels that they’ve been treated with dignity and respect.”

Though her workload is focused on misdemeanor cases, Passaglia McCarthy said her background is in dealing with felony cases.

Over the course of her career, Passaglia McCarthy has specialized in prosecuting domestic violence, sexual assault and human trafficking cases, first in her 10 years as a deputy district attorney in Alameda County and later, in her work for the Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office.

“There are many judges who aren’t as comfortable in the world of felonies. That’s not their preferential place to be” said Passaglia McCarthy. “Because I have the tool-set and the knowledge for it, I want to offer to sit there and I can be useful there, frankly.”

Passaglia McCarthy added that she would also “revel” in presiding over civil cases and “digging” more into that side of the law.

Passaglia McCarthy, who was born and raised in San Francisco, moved to Sonoma County with her husband and their daughter in 2017. Despite the wildfires, floods and pandemic, Passaglia McCarthy said the move was the “best decision.”

“It was kind of a resilient time to be here, I think,” said Passaglia McCarthy. “A good introduction to resilience in Sonoma County.”

Both LemMon and Passaglia McCarthy previously applied for a judicial appointment via the governor’s office but saw the current vacancy on the bench as an opportunity.

LemMon ran unsuccessfully for election to the bench in 2000 and 2010.

Election Day in Sonoma County is June 7. Ballots are set to be mailed to registered voters the second week of May.

You can reach Staff Writer Emma Murphy at 707-521-5228 or emma.murphy@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @MurphReports.