With the local 2008 campaigns slowly creeping into gear, city attorney candidate Jan Goldsmith will announce tomorrow the dual endorsement of Sherriff Bill Kolender and District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis.
Dumanis and Kolender, who hold the two most prominent law enforcement positions in the county, generally endorse together. Together, they also endorsed a failed plan to remove misdemeanor powers from the City Attorney’s Office under current City Attorney Mike Aguirre. They also both stood up to vouch for Mayor Jerry Sanders’ integrity when under attack from Aguirre in the Sunroad scandal.
Together, from here on out, This Just In decrees that they may be referred to as “Dumander.”
Goldsmith, a judge and former politician, is one of two prominent Republicans in the bid to unseat Mike Aguirre. Former Deputy District Attorney William Gentry Jr. dropped out last month to clear the way for Goldsmith to carry the Republican mantle and, a week later, was given a judgeship by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. (My colleague Will Carless had an interesting explainer on that saga today.)
But shortly after Gentry dropped out, Republican City Councilman Brian Maienschein announced his intentions to run, adding a second prominent Republican to the race. Also running on the Democratic side are Lee Burdick and Dan Coffey. Aguirre is also a Democrat; fellow Democrat and City Council President Scott Peters will reportedly run as well, according to the Union-Tribune.
This is the second endorsement Dumanis has made in the nascent race. She originally backed Gentry, her deputy at the time, a break from her earlier pledge to not endorse candidates because of the nature of her office.
For an entertaining back story, check out these SLOP posts for a little background on Dumanis’ choice to endorse: Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3 and Chapter 4.
A press conference announcing the endorsements is scheduled for noon tomorrow at the Community Concourse adjacent to City Hall, at 202 C Street.