Los Gatos Weekly-Times

Photograph by George Sakkestad

Barbara Spector is campaigning for a spot on the Santa Clara County Superior Court bench. Many Los Gatans remember her for her efforts to preserve the character of downtown and its neighborhoods during the 1980s.

Barbara Spector eyes a seat on the Superior Court bench

By Marcus Walton

Of the 46 judges seated on the Santa Clara County Superior Court bench, seven are women. Los Gatos resident Barbara Spector is trying to change that number, even if it is just by one.

Spector, 51, is vying to replace Superior Court Judge Charles Gordon, who is stepping down this year.

If she wins, Spector will become the first woman attorney to run for and win a seat on the Santa Clara County Superior Court bench. If she loses, she will continue working in her practice, the first woman-owned civil law firm in the county.

Either way, Spector continues to make firsts in the Silicon Valley.

Los Gatans who watched Spector battle first to preserve the character of her University/Edelen neighborhood in the 1970s and later observed her as a member and chairwoman of the Los Gatos Planning Commission aren't surprised to see her taking on a big new challenge and taking on another major commitment to community service.

Planning Director Lee Bowman recalled that Spector, who served on the commission from 1980 to 1988, was chairwoman during a period that saw significant decisions on zoning and planning.

"She was chairwoman when the town adopted the general plan and the Downtown Specific Plan," Bowman said. "She was an extremely effective and successful chair. The chair of the Planning Commission often deals with people whose egos are easily bruised. She handled the job very well."

Since she made her way to the South Bay after graduating from UC-Berkeley, Spector has worked for the advancement of women.

When she first moved to the Silicon Valley, she taught in the Eastside Union High School District. She went back to school at San Jose State University, where she earned a master's degree and community college teaching credential. After college, she began working for the Santa Clara County Commission on the Status of Women as a staff member. At night, she taught political science classes, including a Women in Politics course, at Cabrillo College.

She entered Santa Clara University Law School in 1976 at the age of 33 and transformed herself from an unsure first-year law student to a highly regarded attorney.

Twenty years ago, Spector worried that she wouldn't get into law school, and that if she did, she might just get by. But she finished earning her law degree in two years and went on to become an accomplished attorney.

"It was only after I became a lawyer that I even considered being a judge," she said. "But it was always something in the future, when I got older and had more experience."

Spector has been called "one of the best trial lawyers in Santa Clara County" by California State Bar Association president Jim Towery. She has also served as the first woman president of the Santa Clara County Trial Lawyers Association.

"I have always worked to get women into the judiciary--other women," Spector said. "That was one of my main goals when I was president of the Santa Clara County Bar Women Lawyers' Committee. We always joked about the fact that I was successful because we increased the number of women judges in the Superior Court by 100 percent. Because we had Judge [Marilyn] Zecher, who was the only women judge and then Judge [Patricia] Bamattre-Manoukian became a judge while I was president."

But the race for the Superior Court is more than an attempt to strike a blow for women, it is an opportunity for Spector to continue her public service in the way she knows best--by utilizing the law.

"As a judge, you can have a very important affect and role on your community, and I hope to continue to do that with my volunteer work," Spector said.

When Spector was active in Los Gatos' Planning Commission, she briefly considered a run at public office, but she and her husband, Ira, decided against it.

"I always declined to run for office in Los Gatos because I worked really hard in my legal profession," Spector said. "Also, to be quite frank, I never saw myself as a politician. I never saw myself going to events and shaking hands and, ironically, doing all the things I am doing right now."

Even with the schedule demands of a county-wide campaign, Spector said she can now see the benefits of being forced to run a campaign.

"It's really been enjoyable in a way that I would have never anticipated," Spector said. "It has caused me to meet people and discuss issues that I never would have otherwise. I think that's good because the greater and broader a life experience a judge takes to the bench, the better it is."

In her race for Seat 11 on the Superior Court bench, Spector has grabbed the endorsements of a variety of judges, local politicians and legal insiders. Her opponent, Gene Hyman, a former San Jose police officer and current Municipal Court judge, has captured most of the "tough on crime" law-enforcement groups and has the advantage of being a sitting judge.

But Spector has not given up. She won the endorsement of the Santa Clara County Bar Association and finished second in the March 26 primary election. Hyman received 44 percent of the votes cast, while Spector picked up 39 percent. As the contest continues, the diminutive Spector refuses to back down. Spector has thrown $50,000 of her own money into the campaign.