Local political junkies will remember for years the strange case of Daniel Henriquez, candidate for City Council 2010, who claimed a bachelor’s degree from the University of New Orleans and one or maybe two Master’s Degrees from the University of Texas-San Antonio that the Signal could not verify by contacting the institutions in question. A review of the history of Santa Clarita indicates that Mr. Henriquez might have had it exactly backwards: One’s chances of getting elected increase greatly the LESS a candidate’s education past high school.
Of the five sitting City Council members only two have completed college according to their Council bios. (Laurie Ender graduated from Pepperdine and Frank Ferry graduated from CSUN; he does not name the non-ABA accredited Glendale College of Law he also completed.)
Of the ten remaining City Council members in the history of the City (yes, Virginia there have only been 15 councilmembers in 23 years) I can confirm only an additional three that finished college BEFORE they ascended to the Council (Carl Boyer-Trinity University and University of Cincinnati, Clyde Smyth, and Cameron Smyth (UC Davis). Buck McKeon would complete his Bachelor’s in Animal Husbandry from BYU later.
So only one in three City Council members completed college when they were elected, and recent elections would indicate the greater the candidate’s education the less their chances. In 2008 Bob Spierer, who held two advanced degrees and was retired from a long and highly successful career with the LASD (Arguably the MOST qualified person EVER to run for SC City Council.) came a disappointing third in a five person race by a wide margin. In that same election, Maria Gutzeit, an environmental scientist, came DEAD LAST by 2,100 votes.
And let us not forget the tragic case of Henry Schultz, probably the City Council candidate with the highest IQ whose resume includes a run at the University of Michigan as a professor, who came third in 2004, fifth in 2006 and sixth in 2010, seeing his vote total reduced from about 5,000 to under 2,000.
Contrast this with the near history bending success of the lightly educated David Gauny, who “attended” two state universities in Northern California completing an unknown amount of credits and was dubbed “Mr. 12.5″ by a clever poster on SCVTalk.com.
Could it be that Frank Ferry only narrowly won because his attendance at a non-ABA accredited law school confused the electorate?
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Tim – Where the heck have you been??? There’s no E in Smyth
Sometimes a college education does nothing to improve one’s ability to communicate clearly using the written word.
I like to be fair, so here’s the low down on California’s many not-accredited-by-the-American-Bar-Association law schools. California is just about the only state in the country which has them. The reason why the schools are not accredited is, by and large, because they do not have the huge and expensive law libraries which the ABA requires. Not having ABA acredidation keeps tuition down, and helps working people who want to go to law school part time. While I graduated from a “snob law school” I have two friends who graduated from Glendale and they are both very good lawyers.
The “great equalizer” among students from both ABA and not-ABA accredited law schools is the California Bar Examination, which is one of the hardest in the country. The pass rate for those who DO go to ABA accredited law schools is barely 50%. The pass rate for those who DO NOT go to ABA accredited law schools is something like 35% to 40%. For both groups, those who do not pass the bar exam the “first time” have a smaller and smaller chance of passing it when they take the exam the second or third or fourth or fifth time. Many people who go to ABA accredited law schools never pass the exam.
Frank Ferry passed the California Bar Exam. He is a member of the State Bar of California. He is on “inactive status” by his own choice. The only difference between active and inactive status is that inactive members do not have to spent several thousand dollars during every 3 year period to take continuing education courses.
So the bottom line is that it doesn’t matter where he went to law school. Frank Ferry passed one of the toughest bar exams in the country. It’s a bar exam where even people from Ivy League schools like Yale still fall into that 50% or less category of who pass.
That said, as a member of the State Bar of California, there is a basic body of law Frank was supposed to know when he took the bar exam, such as Article I, Section 2 of the California Constitution, which is the basis of Californians’ free speech rights (which are broader than those under the First Amendment), the California definitions of libel and slander, the NY Times Co. v. Sullivan decision by the U.S. Supreme Court which creates a huge bar to a public person (such as a developer) suing for libel or slander, and the duty of members of the State Bar of California not to encourage others to file unmeritorious litigation…like developer libel suits against community activists.
I cannot explain why Frank, as a member of the State Bar of California, shot his mouth off in the Council meeting, encouraging developers to sue community activists when those lawsuits are clearly forbidden by the California Constitution, statutes, case law and State Bar rules.
Frank has my handy primer with the text of the actual “Free Speech” laws in California, as does Jeff of SCVTalk, Natalie at The Signal, and several other people. To me, it important that the “Free Speech” laws circulate throughout Santa Clarita, so that people are not intimidated into staying out of the public discourse on any number of issues.
So, my bottom line is that just because Frank Ferry went to Glendale College of Law doesn’t mean he’s dumb. Far from it.
Coastal Sage:
Fair enough, but why doesn’t Frank list the name of the school on his bio?
Additionally, Frank (God bless him) made this inane comment on the SCVMom’s talk show that he could triple his income if he practiced as an attorney. Maybe, but it is unlikely that Sutherland Asbill would be hiring a graduate from Glendale School of Law anytime soon.
I can’t guess why Frank doesn’t list Glendale on his resume. Maybe he’s worried voters don’t like lawyers. As to Frank practicing law, my guess is that he would follow a path similar to that of Hunt Braly, specializing in local issues.
If Frank’s political career ever advanced to the Legislature or the Congress, if he later wanted to practice law with the Washington/Atlanta firm you mention Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP, or some other “national” or “important regional” law firm, it would depend on how much business he brought in. Old “white shoe” law firms have died left and right, and as to mature lawyers like Frank are far more interested in cash flow than pedigree.
However, I do agree with you that Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP would not hire someone straight out of Glendale College of Law, because except in a few not-fussy states, graduates of non-ABA accredited law schools who pass the California Bar cannot practice law outside of California.
Coastal Sage:
He states clearly in his bio that he has graduated from law school and is a member of the bar, but does not mention the school, which leads me to believe that he thinks people will scoff at it.
I can hardly throw stones because I graduated from a third tier law school (Drake University) in the same range as Chapman, Southwestern and McGeorge (University of the Pacific) and was a general practitioner for one whole year before realizing I had little aptitude for the work, and have felt the sting of snobbishness from graduates of tier I and II law schools.
But I hear you’re a great CPA.
Slightly above average.
Great analysis. The only misstatement is that knowedge of CA constitutional law is not required for the CA bar. Article I, Section 2 of the California Constitution is not tested.
“just because Frank Ferry went to Glendale College of Law doesn’t mean he’s dumb.”
I quite agree. Frank is dumb regardless of which law school he went to.