(l-r) Peter Kaye, Marc Adelman, Pauline Weaver

14 candidates seek five seats on board Two lawyers, a journalist running for the top bar post of president

The 14 candidates seeking five open seats on the State Bar Board of Governors include three attorneys touched by the discipline system and, in a weird coincidence, three lawyers who like to scuba dive in their spare time. Most have something to say about whether bar dues can be reduced even further, some are watching the MCLE appeal closely, and others think the bar should do a better job of tooting its own horn. Some like the bar; some don't.

Three third-year board members also are seeking the presidency: Marc Adelman, a sole practitioner from San Diego; Peter Kaye, a journalist appointed by Gov. Pete Wilson; and public defender Pauline Weaver of Alameda County.

No public member has ever been elected president, and Margaret Morrow, elected in 1993, was the only woman president.

Weaver, 48, and Adelman, 46, both longtime bar activists, stress the importance of the bar to the legal profession, and count on their unique perspectives as a public lawyer and a sole practitioner, respectively.

Weaver stresses long-range planning and building on efforts begun during last year's plebiscite campaign.

Adelman wants to develop a better relationship with the governor and the legislature.

Both promise continuing scrutiny of the budget, effective communication between the bar and its members, and consensus-building.

Kaye, 69-year-old editorial director of the NBC affiliate in San Diego, affects a curmudgeonly exterior belying his sly sense of humor and sharp political acumen. He has spent much of the last year arousing the ire of fellow board members for what he characterized as secrecy surrounding the hiring of an expensive lobbyist, among other things.

His campaign centers on reducing bar dues by $25, and he offers specific target areas for cutbacks, such as reducing the use of consultants and elimination of duplicative staff positions.

The full board will choose the new president at its meeting in Los Angeles July 26.

Ballots for the five board seats will be mailed to attorneys in districts 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9 July 11 and must be returned by Aug. 15. The new board members will begin three-year terms at the annual meeting in San Diego Sept. 13.