LAKEPORT — While District Attorney (DA) candidate Andre Ross posed hypothetical questions, incumbent DA Don Anderson questioned Ross” lack of experience at the candidate forum held at the Lake County Courthouse Thursday.
The audience of approximately 150 people acted with civility during the event, which was held in the Board of Supervisors chambers.
Elizabeth Larson of Lakeconews moderated the event, which was hosted by the Lake County of Chamber of Commerce in partnership with Lakeconews.
Each candidate was given three minutes for opening statements, two minutes to answer questions and one minute for rebuttals. Two minutes were provided for closing statements.
Topics included each candidate”s priorities, medicinal marijuana, plea bargaining, needs of crime victims and veteran courts.
A total of 11 questions were asked, one of which came from the audience.
Ross hypothetically asked numerous times why none of the deputy district attorneys were running against Anderson. Anderson addressed the question during closing statements.
“That is something you are going to have to ask them. It could be, maybe, they are scared to death of me, that I am going to do all kinds of nasty, mean things to them,” Anderson said. “Maybe they are happy with what they are doing. Maybe things are working and they want to keep it working the way it is.”
Additionally, each candidate was given the chance to ask his opponent one question; four minutes were provided for answers.
Anderson asked Ross, “If you are elected District Attorney what will you do for this county if it is not criminal law?”
Ross stated in a radio interview that he had “virtually no criminal law experience and ? would not be involved in the management of felony or misdemeanor cases,” according to Anderson.
“What I bring to the table is intellectual horsepower, integrity, commitment to upholding the law, unbiased handling of cases and a host of other characteristic and qualifications that I am confident prepare me well to be a capable, confident district attorney in a very quick amount of time ? I have a lot to learn, and I have a lot of energy and a lot of commitment to learn it,” Ross said.
Ross questioned Anderson regarding the ineligibility of Anderson”s Minimum Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) requirements in September 2010 and the truthfulness of his statement at a candidate forum that year.
Anderson had stated that there was no time that he knowingly practiced law when he was not eligible, according to a transcript read by Ross.
“I was truthful at that time, as I am truthful now,” Anderson said.
According to Anderson, he did not turn in the verification that he had completed the required credits, which made him ineligible to practice law.
“I was negligent in it, no question about it,” Anderson said.
When Anderson sent in his verification, he was told he was ineligible and did not practice law, he said. However, during that time he had made a couple of court appearances when he was not aware of his ineligibility status.
To hear the complete debate, visit the Record-Bee YouTube page at www.youtube.com/user/LakeCountyRecordBee.
J. W. Burch, IV is a staff reporter for Lake County Publishing. Reach him at 900-2022 or at jburch@record-bee.com.
