The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors skirted political backlash Tuesday, choosing not to appoint an interim district attorney to complete the term of Christie Stanley, who is stepping down as District Attorney after a protracted battle with lung cancer.
At the request of 5th District Supervisor Joseph Centeno, the board unanimously decided to appoint whoever wins the race for the District Attorney’s Office in the June primary election, unless no victor emerges and pushes the election into November. Speculation had swirled over what the board would do given that two supervisors – Salud Carbajal and Doreen Farr – have endorsed Senior Deputy District Attorney Joyce Dudley, who joined the Santa Barbara District office in 1990, in her bid to defeat acting DA Joshua Lynn.
Virtually everyone who had something to say about the board’s impending decision expressed concern that an appointment before the voters decide would send the wrong message at the wrong time.
“My reason for putting it off to June is to let the people decide who they want,” Centeno explained. “Once they make the decision, then that’s the person we will appoint for the interim six months until they’re sworn-in in January.”
The board’s decision gives the position by default to the 2nd ranking person in the office, Ann Bramsen, who became chief assistant district attorney a few months ago. Everyone who attended, including the candidates, was pleased with the result.
“I was her boss last week and she’s my boss this week, and I’m looking to working with her,” Lynn said Wednesday. “I didn’t want a political appointment to favor one or another candidate and see our office to go into another period of transition.” Bramsen said she didn’t know that government code dictates the person second in line to the District Attorney takes over as acting district when the board doesn’t make an appointment for a vacancy.
She said she was called early afternoon Tuesday and was happy to do it. Before becoming chief assistant district attorney, Bramsen was chief trial deputy in the North County office. While working on her law degree from Pepperdine University, she began working with the county District Attorney’s Office as an intern. Among other accomplishments, she received the award for Deputy District Attorney of the year of 2004 and an Elks Award for outstanding service.
“My concern is whether we have enough people to do the work,” Bramsen said. Although supervisors managed to stay out of the political fray, Tuesday’s regular meeting highlighted the political heat in the race between Lynn and Dudley, both of whom encouraged their supporters to attend via email.
The first opinion on the matter came in a letter from former District Attorney Stanley, who heaped praise on Lynn and castigated Dudley. Stanley, who has known Lynn as prosecutor for 14 years and Dudley even longer, said she had an “excellent vantage point” from which to judge the candidates’ careers and personal characters.
She wrote that Dudley “consistently displayed a zealous ‘win at any cost’ approach that has lead to multiple judicial misconduct problems (that) have negatively affected victims, defendants and taxpayers.” Last year, Stanley said she would be seeking a second term, pitting her against Dudley, but pulled out of the race and endorsed Lynn. A month later, she appointed Lynn as acting District Attorney while recovering from a hip injury that forced her to take an indefinite leave of absence.
Dudley and some others contend that the appointment was politically motivated – something Lynn adamantly denies. He has said he was simply next in line for the position, especially because both the North and South County chief assistant district attorneys recently retired.
Other speakers – mainly attorneys – commended the board for agreeing to appoint the election winner. “This should not be a situation where the board creates upheaval in the office,” said Aimee Libeu, a veteran prosecutor, adding that she is not distressed about the way the District Attorney’s Office has been run.
“Stability is what we need. We are professionals. We have done our jobs,” she added. Although there was copious praise for the board and impassioned calls for solidarity among attorneys, there were also statements of support for the candidates.
“I think (Lynn’s) very ethical,” said long-time Santa Barbara resident Cheryl Lombardi. “He has a great love for the community and for what should be done as far as the criminal aspects of the community.” Some veteran prosecutors decried what they consider negative campaigning on the part of Lynn, whose camp recently launched a website, joycedudleymisconduct.com, which outlines a “broad overview of misconduct” by his opponent.
“I will say that I’ve been ashamed recently about some of the statements that have been made by one of the candidates,” said Senior Deputy District Attorney Hilary Dozer, a Dudley supporter and the most senior prosecutor. “It tends to put the reputation of the District Attorney’s office in a bad light.” Speaking to the Journal, Lynn agreed. “Indeed it does,” he said. “But the person who has cast us in the bad light is Dudley.” Dudley called the website “ludicrous” and said many of the allegations cited on it are unfounded or exclude pertinent information.
Among the cases cited is Dudley’s removal from a 2006 rape case after she published a crime novel, called “Intoxicating Agent,” whose facts and characters closely mirrored those in an actual rape case. The site does not mention that the state Supreme Court reversed the decision of a lower court and upheld the decision of the Santa Barbara Superior Court that ruled Dudley did not have a conflict of interest and was not required to be removed from the case.
“It’s still an example of a serious lapse in judgment and a lack of focus on her mission, which is prosecutors in court to seek justice,” Lynn said. Dozer also said the office has suffered from a lack of leadership. Lynn and his supporters maintain that in the wake of Stanley’s illness, leadership has not suffered on his watch.
“I’m happy with the way the office has been run in the most difficult times we’ve ever gone through,” said Senior Deputy District Attorney Brian Cota, a supporter of Lynn. But lack of leadership was the running theme when Dudley addressed the board.
“They want their district attorney fighting crime and seeking justice,” she said. “Sadly, in the almost 20 years that I have been in this office, I and other senior deputy district attorneys and career prosecutors have never seen our office’s morale as low as it is now.” Lynn said he is still waiting on a debate so he can tell the public why he’s the candidate for the job.