Candidate for
Superior Court Judge; County of Contra Costa

In a legal career that has spanned almost thirty years, I have earned a reputation of fairness, integrity, and talent among fellow judges and attorneys. As an attorney I earned the highest professional rating for legal ability and ethics, as well as the California Attorney General's Award for Excellence.

I came to the bench after serving the people of California for 25 years in the California Department of Justice and two years in the California Department of Corrections. As a Deputy Director and the Chief Counsel for the latter, I ran and managed the legal affairs division. During this time, I saved the State of California millions of dollars.

In 1986 I began serving as a Senior Assistant Attorney General, managing the Appeals, Writs and Trials Section of the Criminal Division of the California Department of Justice in San Francisco. In 1992, I moved to the Health, Education and Welfare Section of the Civil Division. As a Senior Assistant Attorney General, I represented both Republican and Democratic Governors in complex civil lawsuits, saving many important state programs. I began my legal career in 1975 with the California Department of Justice as a Deputy Attorney General. During the next 25 years I successfully prosecuted over 300 criminal cases at every level of state and federal court.

I am a graduate of UC Berkeley and UC Berkeley Boalt Hall School of Law. While at Berkeley, I competed on Boalt's National Moot Court team and placed second in the McBaine Honors Moot Court Competition. I also received the Kenneth Priestley Award as the Outstanding Graduating Senior and the Forrest E. Tregea Award for Leadership.

I have called Contra Costa County home for more than 28 years. I have also been an active member of the community, serving on the Boards and Committees of various groups, legal and non-legal. Some of these include the Alumni Council for UC Berkeley, the Asian American Bar Association (where I served as President of the Board), the Japanese American Citizens League, and the Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California. In addition, I have spent countless evenings and weekends chaperoning, building stage props, selling refreshments, and working as an usher for my daughters' dance and drama classes.

My wife Jennifer and I have 2 daughters, Tara and Ashley, and live in Moraga.