If you want to be a judge in Orange County, you might want to schmooze Assemblyman Todd Spitzer.
The Orange* Republican and former prosecutor says he knows who serves on the governor’s secret judicial selection advisory committee in his ’hood.
“I socialize with them,” Spitzer said during an Assembly floor debate this afternoon. “In fact, I saw one at the Orange County fair this year.” (He said they didn’t chat about applicants. Maybe they were too engrossed in pig racing?)
He wasn’t just bragging. Spitzer said he wants every judicial wannabe to know who these secret vetters are, “just like anyone else who has an inside track.” That’s why, he said, he voted for AB 2095, the bill that would force governors to unmask the regional committees that screen judicial applicants. Spitzer was the only Republican in the Legislature to vote “aye” for AB 2095.
The bill passed out of the Assembly today on a 46-21 vote. Ordinarily it would now go to the governor’s desk, but with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger threatening to veto bills sent to him before a budget is signed Assembly leaders will probably keep AB 2095 in the house for at least a few more days.
— Cheryl Miller
(* Note to editor: That’s his city, not his hue)
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