The group of GOP volunteers that are suing the state to have Jerry Brown’s election overturned because he was officially on "inactive status" as a lawyer for a short time while Mayor of Oakland has had a few developments. According to the Plaintiffs, on January 4 the case was assigned to Sacramento Superior Court Judge Gail Ohanesian in Dept. 11, and apparently the Court has asked the parties to agree to a hearing date on the merits by January 12.
Readers of FlashReport will know I am a critic of this lawsuit and see it as a sure loser and even an embarrassment for the Republican Party. Brown has been a lawyer in California for 40 years, has served as Secretary of State and Governor, and is surely qualified to be the state’s Attorney General. Simply because he changed his status as a lawyer for a few years while serving as Oakland’s Mayor, to take advantage of the lower cost dues structure for inactive attorneys, should not be a basis to overturn a vote of the people whereby Brown was elected with an overwhelming majority and received an 18 point lead over his opponent in the race. By the way, I voted for his opponent.
On their website, the Plaintiffs seem to taunt Brown into filing an objection to Ohanesian because she was appointed by Republican Governor George Dukemejian. This is really sophomoric stuff. Brown doesn’t have to move to disqualify any judge — he simply is not going to be kicked out of office, because he is definately qualified to serve in the position of Attorney General. I urge the Plaintiffs to drop this suit and stop using it to raise funds for their causes — it is a waste of time and resources and contributes to negative press for Republicans in the media.