Today I focus on attorneys. You will see some of them have political practices, others are in criminal law. All of them are OC Power Brokers.
NOTE: Many of these attorneys have been the driving force behind electing judges and the district attorney now and in the past. I don’t want to politicize the bench unnecessarily but know that these are the players who got many of our respected jurists their jobs, both appointed and elected.
Wylie Aitken. This Democrat leader is a force in the legal community and in OC politics. He is friend to Rep. Loretta Sanchez and Republicans. He has his finger on the pulse of the union and Democrat worlds.
Paul Meyer. Arguably the top criminal defense attorney in OC.
Jennifer Keller. She is a very political active Democrat defense attorney who takes on high profile cases. Husband is a retired judge.
Keith Carlson. Boy lawyer as he has been called (he actually delivered his own first born at home—not on purpose), he represents big evil corporations in labor disputes as a partner with Carlton, DiSante & Freudenberger. He is also vice-chairman south of the CA GOP and on his way up in the GOP world of party politics.
Al Stokke. Also a Democrat by registration, he has ties to key elected officials on both sides of the aisle. Stokke, also a criminal defense attorney and damn good at it. I suggest you put his number on speed dial in case anyone with a gun and a badge comes knocking.
Dana Reed. Offices out of LA but has lots of OC clients. There are about three names that come to mind when anyone says we need an election lawyer in CA on a big issue, Dana is one of them.
Mark Rosen. He is a Garden Grove city council member, OC Transportation Authority board member and a Democrat. Rosen is one of those guys who knows the history on just about everyone. His law practice includes some election law.
John Erskine. Former mayor/councilmember/planning commissioner of Huntington Beach, Erskine is widely known as the guy that runs politics there. A partner with Nossaman, Guthner, Knox & Elliott, LLP, he earns the title of Mr. Infrastructure representing the firm that want to extend the 57 Freeway. His client list includes some major developers and water industry giants.
Lawyers already on the list from Series I & II: Schroeder, Sheldon, Baugh, Lacy, Hunt and Iger.
Although he is not a "power broker" Phil Greer is an honorable attorney worth mentioning. Back in 2000 when Jim Righeimer and Bruce Matthias won the Republican vote for the 67th and 72nd Assembly Districts respectively but lost because the illegal ‘open primary’ was in place for a short period of time, Greer represented Matthias in trying to get the election overturned. It was noble work even though he was not successful.
Also, I won’t finish this post without mentioning friend and up and comer Michael Houston another Rutan & Tucker attorney and political law contributor to the Flashreport.
FULL DISCLOSURE: Houston along with most of the other attorneys on the list get the oddly timed call from me now and then asking a question that might ordinarily be rewarded with a billable hour but instead gets them a beer on me at best.