I was on vacation for a good chunk of last week, so I am playing catch-up on "Appointment Watch" where we review the Governor’s appointments to various positions, and look at the partisan registration of those individual, using the basic guideline that voluntary association of an individual to a political party gives some indicator of their basic ideological and philosophical leanings.
Last week Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger announced the appointment of longtime Democrat Richard M. Goul to a judgeship in the Los Angeles County Superior Court.
Goul, 48, of Newport Beach, has served as a deputy district attorney with the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office since 1989. He is currently deputy-in-charge of the sexual assault unit of the Long Beach branch of the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. Goul was a law clerk for the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office from 1986 to 1989. He also served on the Cerritos College Board of Trustees from 1979 to 1985. Goul earned a Juris Doctorate degree from Loyola Law School and Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Southern California. He fills the vacancy created by the death of Judge Robert Sandoval.
Read more about Gaul here.
The FlashReport is tallying this judicial appointment in the "Democrat" column, even though Goul is currently registered "Decline-to-State" because of the controversial action of longtime Democrat Gaul in re-registered from Democrat to DTS in mid-February, just as the GOP convention was approaching, and much to-do was taking place about Republicans being frustrated with Democrats being appointed to the bench in alarming numbers given that the Governor is a GOPer. See Mike Spence’s post below on this subject.
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Since the last GOP Convention, here is the official tally:
Republicans: 6
Democrats: 3
Decline-to-State: 1