LGBT leaders wasted little time to line up behind Supervisor Gerardo Sandoval's decision to run for a superior court seat this June. Sandoval, who represents the increasingly gay-friendly Excelsior neighborhood as the District 11 supervisor, announced last month that he would seek a seat on the San Francisco bench.

Within weeks LGBT leaders stepped up to hold the first official event for Sandoval's judicial campaign. Billed as a "gathering" for the LGBT community to learn about the candidate, it took place Thursday, February 7 at the lower Haight home of Supervisor Bevan Dufty and his boyfriend Tom Gray.

Co-hosts included Supervisor Tom Ammiano, Alice B. Toklas LGBT Democratic Club Co-chair Julius Turman and Laura Spanjian, a past Alice club co-chair. Luke Klipp, the openly gay president of San Francisco Young Democrats, whom Sandoval recently hired as a City Hall aide, also helped spread word of the event.

A former public defender, Sandoval is termed off the Board of Supervisors this year. He has opted to run for the judicial seat now held by Judge Thomas Mellon, who according to media accounts has served on the bench since 1994 when he was appointed by then-Governor Pete Wilson (R).

Sandoval is spearheading a campaign to diversify the San Francisco Superior Court's bench. Out of 53 judges in San Francisco, only two are Latino, and not one of 14 court commissioners is Latino.

Last week's filing deadline also saw another candidate enter the race – out lesbian attorney Mary Mallen, who formerly worked in the public defender's office, the district attorney's office, and served as an aide to then-Supervisor Gavin Newsom in 1997.

According to the San Francisco Recorder, Mallen was unaware Sandoval would enter the race. Mallen's father was the late Judge William J. Mallen, who was appointed to a seat on the San Francisco Municipal Court in 1982 by then-Governor Jerry Brown and served on the bench until his death in 1992.

Reached Friday, February 8, Mallen told the Bay Area Reporter that she's always wanted to be a judge, and that she worked in the DA's and public defender's offices to get the perspective of both sides of the criminal justice system.

During her stint at the public defender's office, Mallen represented Kyle Adams, who was convicted of felony assault in the beating death of Chad Ferreira. She left the public defender's office before Adams was sentenced to six years in state prison in December. As previously reported, Adams now identifies as transgender and goes by the name London.

Mellon, formerly a partner in the San Francisco firm of Henn, Etzel, Mellon and Weiss; Sandoval; and Mallen will face off in the June 3 state primary.

Supervisor races

It had been expected that transgender advocate and HIV activist Cecilia Chung would run for Sandoval's seat on the board. But after spending a year exploring a potential entry into the race, Chung has decided not to enter the campaign due to health reasons.

That leaves John Avalos, a legislative aide to Supervisor Chris Daly, and Julio Ramos, a Community College Board member, as the only candidates who have declared their intentions to run for the District 11 seat in November.

The race could become a de facto duel between Daly and his political archenemy Mayor Gavin Newsom if Newsom aide Ahsha Safai enters the contest. Political watchers are also looking to see if former Planning Commissioner Myrna Lim will join the race.

In the race to replace District 3 Supervisor Aaron Peskin, the board's president who is battling charges he has misused his position to threaten Newsom staffers' jobs, former assistant District Attorney David Chiu officially threw his hat into the race late last month.

A small business commissioner, the 37-year-old Chiu is the chief operating officer at Grassroots Enterprise. Chiu is planning an official campaign kick-off this spring.

But he already has lined up an impressive roster of endorsers, including Peskin, Ammiano, District Attorney Kamala Harris, Public Defender Jeff Adachi and Assessor-Recorder Phil Ting. The list makes it increasingly unlikely that openly gay Community College Board Member Lawrence Wong will enter the race.

Last month the Board of Trustees of the San Francisco Community College District unanimously elected Wong as its president. Wong was first elected by voters to serve on the board in 1994 and this will be his fourth time serving as president.

Chiu is expected to face off against Tony Gantner, president of the District 3 Democratic Club. Seven other people are said to be mulling over a possible run for Peskin's seat.

The supervisor battle most LGBT people will be watching closely is the race to replace Ammiano in District 9. Two openly gay candidates – Police Commissioner David Campos and school board President Mark Sanchez – will not only face off against each other but also against candidates Eric Quezada, a community activist backed by Daly, and former U.S. airman Eric Storey. Newsom senior adviser Mike Farrah is also said to be eyeing a possible run for the seat.

Should either Campos or Sanchez end up being the only two out supervisor candidates come November, and neither wins the election, that would leave Dufty as the board's sole openly gay member.

As Dufty is a likely candidate to replace Peskin as board president in 2009, City Hall insiders will be closely watching whom he endorses this year as he tries to secure the five votes he needs to be elected president.

Got a tip on LGBT politics? Call Matthew S. Bajko at (415) 861-5019 or e-mail m.bajko@ebar.com.