In the event that Superior Court Judge Aaron Persky is recalled on June 5, voters need to choose one of the two candidates running to replace him. If he is not recalled, then the election for his successor will not matter, so voters opposed to the recall should not withhold their vote from this race thinking that it would benefit Persky to do so.
Both candidates are experienced and respected attorneys and both have opted not to weigh in on the Persky recall or the Brock Turner case.
Cindy Hendrickson is a veteran Santa Clara County prosecutor and one of six assistant district attorneys serving as part of District Attorney Jeff Rosen’s management team. She has been in the DA’s Office for 23 years and over her career has overseen prosecutions out of the north county courthouse in Palo Alto and the department’s Family Violence Unit. She is a 1990 graduate of UCLA School of Law and has an undergraduate degree from Stanford.
Angela Storey, who jumped into the race in late February, began her legal career handling insurance litigation for Farmers Insurance and then did construction and business litigation. Since 2013 she has been in private practice with her husband in San Jose, where she mostly handles civil cases. Storey graduated from Santa Clara University Law School in 2001 after receiving her undergraduate degree from UCLA.
Hendrickson’s extensive experience in the criminal court system and her management experience make her the easy choice in this election.
Previous recommendations:
It’s interesting that your editorial offers so few specifics to support your recommendation other than that she has a law degree and has punched a clock in the prosecutor’s office for 23 years. How did you arrive at this recommendation to the community? What do you think are her special talents, knowledge, and character. Carrying forth a prosecution is one thing but how did you decide that her judgement would be superior to say Angela’s or to Persky’s who you belive fails us in his judgement? How is her judgement, experience better? When you say qualified, how so? Where does she live, what has been her involvement with the community, what are her positions on crime and punishment? How does she feel about the current sentencing guidelines? Will she be tough on crime, Maximum Cindy, especially for male student misbehavior and go easy on the disadvantaged?
Your editorial doesn’t say why you endorse her.
Hi George,
Thank you for asking about Cindy’s qualifications for candidate of Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge.
When Cindy asked me to be her campaign manager I hesitated to answer, not because I doubted her ability, but because I wanted to assure I could give her the best of my ability.
Cindy is quite remarkable. As 1 of 11 children she is a Stanford and UCLA law school graduate. She has 5 biological siblings and 5 adopted of Vietnamese, Korean and African descent including LGBTQ. Her mother was a teacher, but with 9 children remaining at home she completed her PhD and began a second career at the CIA. Her father had an equally interesting career as a public servant. Cindy’s unique upbringing informed her views on bias of all kinds, and she subsequently developed a passion to serve the people.
In law school as President of the student board, Cindy provided pro bono legal assistance to indigent clients. She clerked for Johnnie Cochran in the late 80’s before moving to SF where she worked 5 years in civil litigation. In 1994 then District Attorney George Kennedy became aware of Cindy from her extraordinary work on a case and offered her a job as a deputy district attorney. Now, 23 years later Cindy has been promoted twice and awarded twice (of 3 possible DA awards) for her successful prosecutions on elder abuse and domestic violence. There are approximately 160 district attorneys in the Santa Clara County office and currently as 1 of 6 Assistant District Attorney’s Cindy has 40 district attorneys under her supervision. She has never lost a case. She has lost some counts and had some hung juries, but never a loss.
Here is a brief list of just some of Cindy’s achievements as a Santa Clara County District Attorney:
1. She helped launch Santa Clara County Financial Abuse Specialist Team.
2. She worked on the elder fraud unit helping elders recover or preserve millions of dollars worth of homes and life savings, and sent con artists to prison.
3. She chaired the Elder Death Review Team.
4. She worked on the sexual assault team that led to the imprisonment of numerous child molesters and rapists for life.
5. She worked on hundreds of domestic violence cases and currently chairs the Domestic Violence Death Review Team.
6. In 2015, she spearheaded the creation of a San Jose Family Justice Center where victims of domestic violence can receive comprehensive services.
7. She has represented the District Attorney on commissions and work groups aimed at reforming the jail and pretrial release system.
Last month Cindy was awarded Unsung Hero Honoree by the Women of Silicon Valley’s Mothers Against Murder group. She has been endorsed by past and present politicians, 7 Police Officer Associations, South Bay Labor AFL-CIO, multiple bay area newspapers, tv personalities and many attorneys and judges who contacted me through social media to send their support.
As Cindy has said, “Santa Clara County needs judges who reflect the values of the community. There needs to be no doubt that the laws apply fairly to all. In my courtroom, everyone will feel respected and heard.”
I believe her. I hope you do too and she will earn your vote.
Thank you for your support.
Best,
Jean Valencia McCauley
Campaign Manager
Cindy Hendrickson for Judge
cindyhendricksonforjudge.org | #cindy
Forgive me for saying it, but you’d serve her better if you focused more on her specific record and achievements and less on her family’s breeding records.
Given all of the attacks on birth control these days, we as voters have a right to know whether there’s a reason why a campaign is stressing a candidate’s family background more than or as much as her professional achievements.
Her campaign manager seems to be asking for our opinions. I would prefer to learn more about all candidates’ professional records, rulings, etc.
Just want to echo the plea for local journalism to provide more thorough investigation about “down ballot” candidates. Many of us want to make an informed choice but find little more than scant biographical details on which to base our decision.
Agree with Abitarian. Further, and especially in the case of a judge, and especially in the circumstances of why this candidate is running, we should be sure NOT to be electing someone for token or symbolic reasons – that is, they are a woman, or represent the LGBQ movement, or the popular buzzwords of inclusion, diversity, or minority preference. Oddly, these qualities, which are completely opposite the goals of NOT selecting based on race, color, gender, etc. – in other words selection based on actual character or merit, are highlighted in political campaigns. In this race, this position absolutely requires qualities such as judgement and experience. Ironically, this race seeks to replace a sitting judge because he exercised judgement and walked directly into a gender crusade.
So, if PAO is true to it’s mission statement, it needs to do more in it editorial. An editorial can be imfluential and PAO should it recognize that it matters more than a few quick words.