PD Editorial: A rare chance to pick local judges

Judicial elections are rare in Sonoma County, which can make them confounding exercises for voters.

The vast majority of judicial vacancies are filled by the governor, and sitting judges are rarely challenged for reelection, at least in Sonoma County. When they run unopposed, Superior Court judges’ names don’t even appear on the ballot.

Two judicial seats are being contested in the June 7 election, because two sitting judges opted against running for reelection. This will be the county’s first judicial election since 2010.

Choosing a judge is different than choosing other officials. Voters expect potential legislators and executives to present their views on issues they might decide. Voters can — and should — insist on direct answers. However, a judge must keep an open mind and apply the law on a case-by-case basis. So, voters must weigh a judicial candidate’s legal experience as and intangibles such as integrity, discretion, perspective and personal background.

Santa Rosa attorney Oscar Pardo and Healdsburg attorney Joe Passalacqua are running for one of the open seats, labeled Office No. 9 on the ballot; Glen Ellen attorney John LemMon and court Commissioner Laura Passaglia McCarthy are vying for Office No. 6.

Pardo, 49, is a civil litigator specializing in complex insurance cases. But he took an unusual path to his career. A son of Mexican immigrants, he dropped out of high school in Chicago and worked as a dishwasher. After moving to California and getting married, he earned a law degree at UCLA before settling in Sonoma County. Pardo is a founding member of Los Cien, a Latino civic and business organization; and, full disclosure, a former community member of our editorial board.

Passalacqua, 60, comes from a well-known legal family. He counts a retired Superior Court judge and a former district attorney among his relatives and joined his father’s law firm after studying at Santa Clara University. Passalacqua is primarily a criminal defense lawyer, though he has handled some civil matters, and earlier in his career he sat in small claims court as a judge pro tem. For many years, he has coached football and girls basketball in Sonoma County high schools, and he works with a nonprofit group that provides athletic shoes for needy youngsters.

LemMon, 58, who specializes in criminal defense, says a judgeship has been a careerlong goal. He ran twice before, in 2000 and 2010, but was not elected. LemMon served as a judge pro tem in the Sonoma County courts from 1993 until 2011 and has experience as an arbitrator and settlement conference panelist. He also has an embarrassing arrest in his past, though the case was ultimately dismissed.

Passaglia McCarthy, 42, already is on the bench, having been appointed as a Superior Court commissioner last fall. Commissioners are selected by local judges and handle many of the same duties but don’t take part in management of the courts. Before her appointment, Passaglia McCarthy was a deputy district attorney handling sexual assault and human trafficking case in Sonoma County and Alameda County.

For Office No. 6, Passaglia McCarthy is the superior choice, based on her recent experience prosecuting serious felonies and the fact that Sonoma County judges chose her to join them on the bench. She also would be one of just four women on a 20-judge bench.

For Office No. 9, both candidates are impressive, but Pardo would bring a wealth of civil experience to a bench long dominated by prosecutors and defense lawyers. He also would be the first Latino ever elected to the bench in Sonoma County. That’s overdue.

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