Open Letter to Marin Voters

By Bernard H. "Bernie" Meyers

An open letter to the voters of Marin County about Bernard H. "Bernie" Meyers' background and priorities. Learn more at http://www.berniemeyers4judge.com/

When you fill out your ballot for the March 2 election, I hope you will consider checking my name for Marin Superior Court Judge. I'm a candidate for the vacant sea created when Judge McGivern decided not to seek a new term.

My legal background includes more than 15 years with the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division and almost 20 years in civil practice. I have served as a pro tem judge for settlements, arbitrations, small claims appeals, and mediations in several Bay Area counties, and conducted federal grand jury investigations in California, Oregon, and Washington. My background has made me aware that the victim restitution is an important part of the justice system. I also support alternatives to incarceration for appropriate non-violent offenders.

I have been an advocate for the environment and education, and have twice been elected to the Novato City Council, including a term as Mayor. Before my current term on the City Council, I helped lead a successful referendum that overturned a large department project at Bahia, saving hundreds of acres of wetlands and rare oak forest, and then, while on the Council, assisted in its purchase for open space. I am the author of the proposed Novato campaign finance reform ordinance.

I am committed to education as the foundation of justice. I earned a teaching credential in 1968 and taught at San Quentin while attending law school. I also taught at Marin County juvenile Hall, worked with developmentally disabled students at the high school and junior college level, and taught at the Hasting College of the Law. I have an MS in physics from the University of Michigan and received my law degree from the University of California, Berkeley.

I have served as a trustee of the Marin County Law Library and on the board of the Marin Conservation League. If elected, my priorities would include encouraging the bench to strengthen ties to the community and working with schools to build awareness of our legal system.

No other candidate combines a history of diverse legal responsibilities with such a breadth of civic involvement.

My experience as an elected official demonstrates that:

• I read and listen to the testimony and arguments of those before me;
• Ask cogent questions and apply the relevant law; and
• Make reasoned decisions.

I ask for your support so that I may bring my experience and commitment to the Marin County Superior Court.

Sincerely, Bernard H. "Bernie" Meyers