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Back in my daily newspapering days, I typically had the responsibility of making editorial page recommendations for elected offices.
When dealing with local school boards or city councils as well as county and state level offices, we typically could sort out where candidates stood on key issues.
What was consistently troublesome was the rare judicial race that was competitive. Alameda County rarely sees sitting judges opposed—that wasn’t the case in Contra Costa that has a history of competitive races. The picture changes when a judge is retiring and not standing for re-election. There’s one Alameda County seat that will be open and two candidates running on March 5.
Mark Fickes, a court commissioner, is facing Michael Johnson for the superior court seat. The East Bay Insider, a daily political email, described a Democratic Central Committee meeting last month where members discussed and decided on endorsements for the primary.
Fickes was asked who he voted for in the Alameda County District Attorney race and he responded Pamela Price, the progressive who won the seat. She’s facing an active recall campaign.
Johnson declined to answer, citing the judicial canon that bars judges from expressing political opinions.
The Oakland branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (the NAACP) issued a January 19 press release critical of Fickes.
It read, “We fully agree with LaDoris Hazzard Cordell, a former Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge and noted judicial scholar, who stated in the news article that “Everybody who wears that robe is required to know those canons and to know the rules there’s no excuses.” The canons apply to both judges and commissioners.
The local NAACP was responding to a critical editorial in the Bay Area Reporter that has covered LGBTQ issues since 1971 according to its masthead. Fickes is gay.
What’s even more troublesome is that Price, who is a member of the county central committee, voted to endorse Fickes. So much for judicial impartiality. It calls into question the judgement of both people.
Should Fickes win and be assigned to the criminal courts, expect a parade of defense attorneys requesting a different judge. The situation also should add some fodder to the recall campaign.
It’s worth noting that Price has never run an organization such as the DA’s office—arguably she was not qualified for the job from the start.
Congrats to the team at Much Ado About Pizza for hitting Yelp’s list of top 100 places to eat. There was a distinctively casual tone to much of the list.
The special sourdough crust at Much Ado sets apart its Shakespeare theme pies that reflect Kira Zabrowski’s theatre background. Her husband Mark works side-by-side in the take-out only establishment in the Mission Plaza center on Santa Rita Road. It’s across the parking lot from The Press.
Zira, in particular, has received lots of recognition for her unique toppings that routinely change.
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