The contested race for a seat on the San Francisco Superior Court bench pits occasionally controversial Judge Thomas Mellon against termed-out Supervisor Gerardo Sandoval and prosecutor-turned-PD-turned-solo Mary Mallen. Voters will have to weigh the candidates — here’s our coverage.
Sandoval said Mellon is not a particularly well-respected jurist, noting the public defender’s blanket challenge against him in 2000. Sandoval provided Recorder editors with copies of pages from the “California Courts and Judges” book that included allegations of rudeness and arrogance by Mellon on the bench.
Mellon would not be a judge “but for the fact that his father was one of the most powerful men in San Francisco,” Sandoval said. Mellon’s father served as San Francisco’s chief administrative officer between 1964 and 1976.
“I’ve always had to struggle and not [succeed] based on my family name but on my own determination and energy,” Sandoval said.
