IN SANTA MONICA : Close Call

Viewed from afar, Santa Monica politics sometimes resemble a sort of high-stakes Monopoly game: I think I’ll put a hotel on Ocean Avenue. You lose legal dispute with landlord. Go directly to the Court of Appeals; do not pass Campaign for Economic Democracy headquarters.

Judicial races, however, deserve to be decided on a slightly more mature basis and, for that reason, the people of Santa Monica are fortunate to have two worthy candidates in a runoff contesting their open Municipal Court seat, Office No. 3.

Both labor lawyer David B. Finkel, 58, and civil litigator James M. Bambrick, 50, have been rated well-qualified by the County Bar Assn.’s rigorous evaluation process.

Both men have deep roots in the community and long records of public service. Finkel currently is a member of the Santa Monica City Council and serves as mayor pro tem. Bambrick has served on Santa Monica’s board of education and is a trustee of its city college. Both have clear and constructive ideas about how to attack the Santa Monica court’s backlog of cases.

We believe the better choice for the job is Finkel, who has a particularly tough-minded but compassionate notion of how judges of the Municipal Court ought to conduct themselves. His concern for civil liberties--and his experience as a member of the city’s rent control board--make him particularly suited to preside over a court where rent disputes are a docket staple.

We urge the election of Finkel to Santa Monica Municipal Court Office No. 3.