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Two already looking ahead to fall run-off for San Joaquin judge
Mere hours after election results rolled in, two veteran San Joaquin County attorneys were already making plans for a November run-off to see who will fill a vacant judge seat.
James Morris and Phil Urie received the most votes in Tuesday's election.
San Joaquin County election results
Urie, a 22-year prosecutor, had the most number of votes by a narrow margin, with 30.23 percent, or 16,667 votes. The total was 477 more than Morris' total of 16,190, or 29.37 percent.
Attorney David Drivon came in third with 26.46 percent of the vote, and defense attorney Chuck Pacheco had 13.49 percent.
But because neither Urie nor Morris had more than 50 percent of the vote, they will go to a runoff in November.
"I am looking forward to November," Morris said.
Urie and Morris don't plan to quit their day jobs, and both agreed that the November election will be much different than Tuesday's low-turnout affair.
Not only will California voters be deciding on a gay marriage issue, but it's a presidential election in which the likely winner will either be the nation's first black president or the eldest president.
"With the presidential campaign, some people are expecting 80 percent turnout," Urie said. "There will probably be a lot of new voters so it's harder to target them."
Morris, who has worked in civil law for 37 years, was endorsed by most current judges, as well as retired judges and a number of law enforcement groups.
Urie, however, ran on his record of prosecuting crime.
"Wherever I went and everything I tried to put out, I talked about the fact that our court is awash in criminal cases and that's where we need the help," Urie said.
Neither man wants the race to become confrontational, and Morris called Urie on Wednesday morning to congratulate him. Urie, in turn, referred to Morris as a gentleman.
Though they were a bit tired after waiting past midnight for final results, both were in their offices Wednesday morning and said the campaigning was already continuing.
"I thought I was going to take a day off but I guess not," Morris said, noting that he'd made and received countless calls by mid-morning and was feeling optimistic.
Urie said he's got many people to contact and money to raise, but he was also up-beat.
"I saw my shadow so it's five more months of campaigning," Urie said.
Contact reporter Layla Bohm at layla@lodinews.com.
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