P.O. Boxes Raising Questions
Place of residence not a factor in judgeships
Lauren McSherry, Staff Writer (the Sun)
 
Deputy District Attorney Bridgid "Briye" McCann lives in Los Angeles County, but she is using a rented mailbox in Grand Terrace for her political bid for a San Bernardino County Superior Court judgeship.

"It's never been a secret that I live outside of the county," McCann said. "I've worked in this county for 20 years. For me, it's always been a non-issue."

Using the address of a rented mailbox is not unheard of in races for judgeships, said county Registrar Kari Verjil.

It is legal for Superior Court judgeship candidates to live outside the county in which they are running for office, she said.

Verjil said district attorneys who prosecute criminal cases tend to use rented mail boxes for confidentiality reasons because they fear that listing their personal addresses could endanger either themselves or their families.

McCann and two other candidates are competing in the June 3 election for office No. 7, which is being vacated by retiring Judge James Dorr.

There are 24 Superior Court judgeships in the county. Office No. 7 is the only contested seat in this election.

McCann, a San Dimas resident, said she rented the mailbox at the request of her campaign staff.

"It was for my convenience," said McCann's campaign manager, Kim Davidson Morgan, a principal with Davidson/St.Pierre Consulting. "The idea that she was being deceptive or trying to pull something over on voters is disturbing to me."

Morgan said she requested the rented mailbox at Mail Mart on Mount Vernon Avenue because it is close to her veterinarian. She has eight dogs.

One of McCann's opponents, James R. Gass, a private defense attorney who lives and works in Redlands, questioned whether McCann was misrepresenting herself.

Barstow defense attorney Benjamin Echols, who is also vying for the seat, declined to comment.

Cheryl C. Kersey, who is running unopposed for the Office No. 10 seat, held by retiring Judge Douglas Gericke, also listed a P.O. box address in her campaign filing.

Kersey, a deputy district attorney who specializes in gang prosecutions, said she chose not to use her home mailing address in Redlands, not because she feared for her safety, but because she wanted to keep her work and personal lives separate.

The rented mailbox in San Bernardino is "a matter of convenience" because it is close to her office, she said.