Last month, there was a story about a Rohnert Park City Council candidate whose wife had been granted a temporary restraining order against him for a domestic dispute.

Now another Sonoma County candidate, a judicial candidate, is being accused of once having a restraining order issued against him.

In a mailer sent out this week, and inserted in copies of home-delivered Press Democrat’s today, is a piece by judicial candidate John LemMon accusing his opponent Pat Broderick, dean of Empire Law School, of having had a restraining order issued against him 12 years ago.

The mailer shows a large gavel next to a copy of the restraining order dated July 21, 1998. It states, “Does Pat Broderick have the ethics to be Superior Court judge?”

I just put in a call to Broderick to find out what this is about. No word yet. (Update: To see Broderick’s response, click here.)

Just yesterday, many voters received a mailer from Broderick’s campaign in which he appears in a photo with 13 Sonoma County judges who support his candidacy. He also has received the endorsement of James Casey, the senior deputy district attorney who was a candidate for the same judicial seat, office No. 2, in the June primary.
Broderick received 40 percent of the vote in June followed by LemMon with 33 percent and Casey with 26 percent. Because no one received more than 50 percent, the top two are in a November run-off.

–         Paul Gullixson