Prosecutor nabs rare judge seat

"It makes me very humble and proud that the people of San Mateo County voted for me. The courts belong to the people and a judge works for the public,” Etezadi said.

Final tallies showed Etezadi, 47, with 54.6 percent of the vote while Maguire, 40, had 45.4 percent. Etezadi grabbed the lead with the first absentee returns and never let go.

"It felt great to know we were ahead but we weren’t sure until the final count,” Etezadi said of watching the returns come in.

Maguire, too, said she was proud of the race she ran and is prepared to return to her job.

"I love what I do and am not at all disappointed to be getting back to work,” Maguire said.

Maguire said she takes away from the campaign a new circle of acquaintances and different causes that may be easier to stay involved with as a private citizen rather than a judge.

Etezadi officially begins Jan. 8, 2007 and replaces Judge John Schwartz who retires in August.

Her win comes on the heels of a different victory. In May, Etezadi weathered an allegation by Maguire supporters she illegally solicited endorsements and contributions through the county’s internal mailing system. The attorney general cleared Etezadi’s campaign of any wrongdoing.

"We were confident from the beginning we did nothing wrong and the facts would come out. We were patient and ran a positive campaign,” Etezadi said.

During the campaign, Etezadi pushed her experience as a longtime prosecutor, particularly on the homicide team. Maguire focused on her background in both the District Attorney’s Office and in private practice as a defense attorney.

Etezadi, the daughter of an Iranian father and American mother, brings at least one unique experience to the local bench: In 1993, she sued Iran at the Hague on behalf of her mother.

Etezadi earned a sociology degree at the University of California, Davis and a law degree from the University of San Diego. She has served all but a small bit of her career as a San Mateo County prosecutor.

So far, she has 71 jury trials under her belt, including 16 homicide cases. Etezadi also had a jury return the first death penalty verdict for a female in the county and Northern California. Aside from her campaign season in which she’s on hiatus from work, Etezadi has a hybrid assignment of environmental law and handling the office’s more than 73 mental health cases. She also spent two and a half years handling insurance fraud.

Etezadi will be back to work on Thursday before heading to South Carolina to teach.

A contested judicial election is rare in San Mateo County. More typically, judges retire mid-term, allowing the sitting governor to make an appointment. Etezadi sought a gubernatorial appointment to the bench but had the idea dashed when former Gov. Gray Davis was recalled.

Maguire, who worked as a prosecutor for nearly a decade before heading to private practice, cut her election teeth campaigning for her father, Brendan Maguire, the former San Mateo County sheriff whose name was given to the county jail.

She has no immediate plans to run again or seek a gubernatorial appointment although that doesn’t rule out a future possibility.

Michelle Durand can be reached by e-mail: michelle@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 102. What do you think of this story? Send a letter to the editor: letters@smdailyjournal.com.<