The second candidate running for judge that got back to me was KC Jones, a judicial attorney for the County of Orange who is running for Superior Court Judge, Office No. 12.

According to the Registrar of Voters' website, KC will be on the top of the ballot and will surely pick up support from voters who usually vote for the top candidate if they are unfamiliar with the rest.

As of the March 17 report, KC only raised $2,519 but loaned his campaign $35,000, which is a sizable amount.  He already spent $28,453 on the ballot statement and other miscellaneous items, which leaves him with $9,065 cash on hand.

If the KC Jones for Judge campaign is behind their rivals in the money chase, their candidate is sure making up for it by other means.  I see KC at a lot of public events.  It doesn't matter if those events are Democratic or Republican oriented, if there is a good size crowd, KC will be there to shake hands and pass out his brochures.  So far, he and rival Mike Flory are the only candidates for Office No. 12 that has blanketed Orange County with campaign signs.  I haven't see anything from Debra Carrillo or Kermit Marsh yet.

KC Jones's campaign is managed by Steve Spernak of SCM Consulting.  Yes this is the same Steve Spernak who ran Mike McGill's assembly race before Joe Giardiello and Brandon Power was brought on board to salvage the campaign.

A word of advice for KC, don't spend your money on DVDs.

When asked why the voters of Orange County should elect him, KC responded:

I believe that I have the unique combination of experience, intellect and temperament to succeed as a judicial officer.  I am intelligent, dedicated and hard working and am seeking to expand upon my solid foundation as an active and successful lawyer.  After over 20 years of civil litigation, I realized that there is a great deal that I can contribute to the community through a judicial position.  I have long felt that the judiciary is the highest calling in the legal profession, and have contemplated a judicial position for several years.  This is the reason I resigned my partnership and left private practice for a position as a judicial attorney.  The courts have given much to me over the years, and I feel that I have much to give back in return.  (You can click on the link below to read the full response)

On who is his favorite Justice on the U.S. Supreme Court:

In reading the recent decision in the lethal injection case, Baze v. Rees, I have become more impressed with the restrained approach taken by Chief Justice Roberts.  He relied on prior precedent that capital punishment was permissible, and focused on the key issues that were presented concerning the method and available alternatives.  His approach was respectful of precedent, free from grandiose pronouncements and restrained to the issues at hand.  As the many concurring opinions revealed, there certainly was the opportunity to depart from this approach.  I believe that Chief Justice Robert's refusal to do so was admirable.  While he is still new in the position, he has shown the promise toward true greatness as a Chief Justice.  Chief Justice Roberts demonstrated this same restrained conservative approach in the recent voter ID case.

On his area of legal expertise:

Civil Litigation / Trial / Appellate Practice in the following areas:  Business Law; Community Association Law; Professional Liability (Errors & Omissions and Directors & Officers); Real Estate Law; Employment Law;  Injury to Reputation; Intellectual Property; Commercial Law; Insurance Law.  Transactional / General Counsel Practice in the following areas: Business Entities, Buy-Sell, Formation and Operation; Real Estate Contracts, Leases and Conveyances; CC&Rs Interpretation; Insurance Coverage and Evaluation; Sales and Commercial Transactions; Entertainment, Trademarks and Copyright Employment, Contracts and Counseling.

On which legal experience was the most rewarding for him:

By far, the most rewarding experiences have come from my service as an arbitrator and temporary judge.

On which other candidate will make it with him to the November run-off:

Debra Carrillo

On how much money he will need to make the November run-off:

$85,000

To read KC's full response to all of my questions, you can click here.  For more information on KC Jones, please visit his website at www.KCJonesforJudge.com.