Next week San Francisco Superior Court Judge Richard Ulmer will take his campaign to retain his seat on the local bench to the city's LGBT community. A number of his LGBT supporters within the city's legal circles plan to "speak out" about why they are backing the former Republican and straight candidate over his challenger, openly gay attorney and crime novelist Michael Nava.
The event will take place Tuesday, September 28 from 5:30 to 7 p.m. in the Rainbow Room at the LGBT Community Center located at 1800 Market Street. Among the speakers will be Chief Deputy City Attorney Therese M. Stewart, who successfully argued the city's same-sex marriage case before the California Supreme Court; and out Superior Court Judges Donna Hitchens, Kevin McCarthy, and Mary Morgan.
The event is being billed as a chance for LGBT voters to meet and hear from Ulmer as well as from his LGBT judicial backers. In a statement announcing the event, Morgan called Ulmer a "friend and ally" of the LGBT community.
"Judge Ulmer has been a wonderful asset to the bench here in San Francisco as he brings an unusual depth and breadth of experience to our court," stated Morgan. "Day to day in my work with him, Judge Ulmer has proven to be an eminently qualified, fair and impartial judge who I am proud to call my colleague."
Stewart explained that she has thrown her backing to Ulmer because she believes he is well qualified to be a judge and deserves to remain on the court.
"Maintaining an experienced and independent judiciary is critical to the LGBTQ community and to the future of San Francisco," stated Stewart. "We can't afford to lose this talented and impartial jurist."
Nava has argued that he is not only qualified to serve on the court but can help diversify the local bench, which has only three Latino jurists and less than a dozen out judges. He stressed that argument once again in an e-mail he sent to supporters earlier this month.
Rather than retire from the legal profession, Nava wrote that he decided to launch his judicial bid because "it has become clear to me that the lack of diversity among California's judges is a serious issue on many levels. It means that for young people from disenfranchised communities who want to enter the profession �" young people of color, women, LGBT people �" there are few role models and mentors to look to for encouragement, inspiration and assistance."
His campaign plans to greet attendees at Ulmer's event and hand out literature supporting his candidacy. In a message to supporters, his campaign manager Bryan Terhune criticized Ulmer for holding his event at the LGBT center.
"A very odd location choice for a straight, white, male, former Republican, who is running for office against an openly gay, Latino candidate," wrote Terhune. "The people attending the event should really be keenly aware of who is 'the' LGBT candidate for Superior Court judge before going into the event."
Ever since Nava emerged as the top-finishing candidate in the three-person primary race in June, his runoff race against Ulmer has become increasingly heated. The contest has also marked a rare instance where the court's judges have so publicly campaigned on behalf of a colleague.
Most judges do not face challengers for their seats when they go before the voters; among legal circles it is considered anathema for someone to take on a judge considered by most to be doing a good job. Two years ago when former Supervisor Gerardo Sandoval ran against and ultimately defeated Judge Richard Mellon, the Republican jurist did not have the same public backing from those on the court as Ulmer has garnered.
Angel Garganta, an openly gay Latino lawyer who is a partner with law firm Arnold and Porter, said he is not surprised to see Ulmer engender so much support. He first met the judge back in the early 1990s when he was fresh out of law school and they worked at the same law firm together.
"He was just an absolutely great teacher and mentor and somebody who was totally supportive of me as a gay man at a time when not everybody was out in big law firms back then," recalled Garganta. "I just really think highly of Dick. I always found him to be a really compassionate person, open-minded person, and an excellent lawyer. So I felt that I needed to lend my support when he was being challenged."
While Garganta supports seeing the state's judiciary be more diverse, he said it shouldn't be achieved by defeating competent judges.
"You know the implication is somehow someone of his background could not be a fair judge to our communities. I think that is just total bunk," said Garganta. "I don't even know Mr. Nava and have nothing against him whatsoever. But I do think he is running against the wrong guy."
For his part Ulmer said LGBT voters should be weary of rejecting judges based on their political affiliations or sexual orientation. He pointed to the many straight Republican appointed judges who have ruled in favor of same-sex marriage in legal cases across the country.
"We shouldn't be putting people into boxes," said Ulmer, who switched from being a registered Republican to decline-to-state after being appointed to the bench last summer by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. "I reject the notion that the LGBT community is some monolithic group where everybody votes and thinks the same way."
Due to his being a judge, Ulmer is not allowed to voice his stance on various issues, including LGBT rights. When asked why LGBT voters should support him, he does point to his mentoring of LGBT lawyers and his pro bono work on a lawsuit against the California Youth Authority.
In that case one of the main plaintiffs he represented was a young gay man who faced deplorable treatment at the state-run detention facilities. Having lived in San Francisco for 17 years, Ulmer said he believes he has a good grasp of the issues LGBT people face.
"You couldn't help but understand living in San Francisco," said Ulmer, whose younger sister Karol is a lesbian and lives with her partner, Jenny Pullen, in Omaha, Nebraska.
The couple plans to come to San Francisco in late October to help Ulmer campaign. In a phone interview, Karol Ulmer said her brother embraced her when she came out to him and has ensured they remained close despite living so far apart.
"He moved out there 25, maybe more, years ago but he has always remembered his years here and upbringing. He always comes back and sends his daughter back to visit us. She stays here every summer for a couple weeks," said Karol Ulmer. "He stays with us every time when he visits. I feel good about that, that he feels comfortable and good being here and we love having him here."
When the couple was in the Bay Area in July to visit, Karol Ulmer said they didn't talk about the election. Nor did she know a gay candidate was challenging her brother until asked about it by a reporter this week.
"It might surprise you but when we were out there we didn't talk about it much. He is not comfortable talking about himself," she said. "The election was not a topic of conversation. We talked more about the Giants."
Ulmer said he is confident of retaining his seat because as more voters, both LGBTs and independents, get to know him they will see he is the better-qualified candidate.
"It really does come down to qualifications. I was a lawyer for 23 years and a litigator the whole time. I was in court quite often. I know the dynamics of the courtroom," said Ulmer. "Michael is an intelligent guy but he has not been on his feet in a courtroom for over 23 years."
If Nava is so concerned about a diverse bench, Ulmer questioned why he didn't seek a seat on the San Mateo County Superior Court, in whose jurisdiction he lives with his husband.
"If diversity is what this is all about, the San Mateo bench is a lot less diverse than San Francisco is," said Ulmer.
Meanwhile, this Saturday, September 25 the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund is co-hosting a fundraiser for Nava and three other out LGBT candidates it has endorsed this year. Along with filling Nava's coffers in his judicial race, the event will also benefit Oakland Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan's bid to be her city's mayor; administrative law judge Victoria Kolakowski's race for a seat on the Alameda County Superior Court; and Aaron Kampfe, a candidate for Montana state Senate.
Blake Oshiro, who is running to be a Hawaii state representative, will be the special guest at the event. The fundraiser takes place from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at lesbian chef Elizabeth Falkner's Orson restaurant, located at 508 4th Street.
Individual tickets cost $50. For more information visit www.victoryfund.org/slate/view/id:45.
Web Extra: For more queer political news, be sure to check http://www.ebar.com Monday mornings around 10 a.m. for Political Notes, the notebook's online companion. This week's column examines the intersection of LGBT rights and immigration issues on Capitol Hill.
Keep abreast of the latest LGBT political news by following the Political Notebook on Twitter @ http://twitter.com/politicalnotes.
Got a tip on LGBT politics? Call Matthew S. Bajko at (415) 861-5019 or e-mail [email protected].