As first reported by Roger M. Grace in the Metropolitan News, Peter Singer, in a run-off for San Diego Superior Court Office No. 36, has potentially committed perjury. The trouble for Singer began when he challenged Registrar of Voters Cynthia L. Paes’ decision with respect to his ballot statement. In his written response, Singer, under penalty of perjury, states “I am not a member of the Democratic Party (or any of its affiliates), nor engaged in any partisan activities of any political organization.”
This statement is completely false. The San Diego County Registrar of Voters is responsible for tracking and maintaining voting records for all registered voters and tracks the registration of every person “registered or affiliated with a known political party.” According to this database, Singer is in fact a registered Democrat.
The definition of perjury is spelled out in Cal. Penal Code Section 118: a person who “willfully and contrary to the oath” to tell the truth “states as true any material matter which he or she knows to be false.” Singer declared under penalty of perjury that he is “not a member of the Democratic party”.
Grace subsequently queried Singer on whether he was in fact a Democrat, and Singer responded via email that “While I was (and am) a registered Democrat, I am not a member of the San Diego Democratic Party.” Such shenanigans suggest Singer lacks the moral and ethical integrity to serve on the Bench. Indeed, Grace said it best when he concluded “he’s [Singer’s] either a perjurer or a dolt.”
The Metropolitan News which, according to Grace, hasn’t endorsed Judicial Candidates outside Los Angeles since its founding in 1901, has subsequently endorsed Pete Murray for Superior Court Judge Seat #36. In supporting Murray, Grace notes that Singer “if not a perjurer, is an utter fool.”
Singer’s conduct is equally baffling to local Democratic Party officials who were completely caught off guard. The San Diego County Democratic Party bylaws provide that the Central Committee “may endorse candidates for nonpartisan offices providing [paragraph 1] “1. The candidate is a registered Democrat.” There has yet to be a circumstance under which the local Democratic Party has supported a candidate who blatantly states he or she is “not affiliated with the San Diego Democratic Party.” Said one high ranking Party official, “whether the Party pulls him [Singer] off the website remains to be seen, but we have pushed this information out. We are not in the business of endorsing candidates who run afoul of the law, and we are strongly advising people to vote their conscience.”
Singer’s Writ challenging Registrar Paes’ determination, filed on 08/24/22, was transferred to Orange County for disposition and was Dismissed after hearing by Orange County Superior Court Judge Nathan R. Scott for failure to interpret and follow basic Election Code guidelines, another indication that Singer is unfit to be a Superior Court Judge.
The articles by Roger M. Grace can be found by below under Viewpoint, then Recent Opinion Pieces.
