fter seven years on the bench, Alameda County Court Commissioner Howard Bloom says he will retire on Feb. 21.
The 55-year-old said he wanted to leave the post with good memories.
"I am very happy with my job," he said, adding that working in the court system was like working with a "big family."
Bloom has been a commissioner since 1995 and was an Alameda County public defender attorney for 18 years. He earned his JD at Hastings College of the Law. When the commissioner retires, he plans to spend more time with his family and indulge in hobbies like fishing and diving.
Over the years, Bloom has presided over a variety of cases, primarily at the Hayward Hall of Justice. Currently he hears landlord-tenant and traffic cases at the Allen E. Broussard Justice Center in Oakland.
"Every case I hear deals with an individual," said Bloom, who often encounters litigants outside the courthouse who recognize him.
Bloom thinks the intimate feeling at local courthouses has lessened since the old municipal court system was dismantled, but said he was still able, as a commissioner, to have a positive impact on ordinary people.
"It's good to know that you can still have a community-based legal system," he said.
