Candidate for
District Attorney- Public Administrator; County of Santa Cruz

Ron Ruiz brings to the office of Santa Cruz County District Attorney over 30 years of experience in the criminal justice system. Since his appointment in February 1999 Ron Ruiz has made many difficult decisions over a wide spectrum ranging from death penalty cases to high profile cases, from restructuring the office to much delayed personnel issues, from budgetary matters to training. He has made these decisions wisely and, in some cases, courageously. He has made them with integrity and aplomb.

The son of Mexican immigrants, Ron Ruiz was born and raised in Fresno California. He was the first child in his family to graduate from high school and go on to college. He graduated from St. Mary's College in Moraga where he received a degree in English and played on the baseball team. He attended the University of California Boalt Hall Law School where he received the Walter Dinklespiel Fellowship, and later attended the University of San Francisco Law School from which he received his law degree in 1964.

Ron Ruiz began his legal career in the Alameda District Attorney's Office. He left that office in 1966 and entered private practice in San Jose, California specializing in Criminal Law.

In 1975 Governor Jerry Brown appointed Ron Ruiz to the newly-established Agriculture Labor Relations Board (ALRB) where he served until 1980. His duties consisted of establishing case law and administering the ALRB along with four other Board Members and the General Counsel. He served as the Acting Board Chairman during the end of his Board service.

Upon leaving the ALRB in l980 until he was appoined District Attorney in 1999, Ron Ruiz was in private practice in San Jose specializing in criminal law. He has handled everything from drunken driving cases to death penalty cases. In 1984 he was named MALDEF (Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund) Lawyer of the Year. From 1992 to 1996 he was one of the lead attorneys in a 21 defendant death penalty case. He has handled over 20 homicide cases.

Ron Ruiz has published two novels. His first book, "Happy Birthday Jesus", was published in 1994. His second novel, "Giuseppe Rocco" was published in 1998 and won the national Premio Atzlan award for the best novel written by a Hispanic in 1998. Ron Ruiz has also served on the Happy Valley School Board, has been a Little League coach and currently coaches his 11 year old daughter's pitching.

Since becoming District Attorney Ron Ruiz has made a huge in-road into the dramatic chaos that existed in the District Attorney's Office at the time of his appointment. At that time 5 out of 38 in-house Assistant District Attorneys and three ouside attorneys were running for the position of District Attorney. Today Ron Ruiz has only one opponent, an outside attorney from Sacramento. Two of the previous 5 candidates, Ariadne Symons and Christine McGuire, both highly experienced Assistant District Attorneys, support Ron Ruiz.

Besides his over thirty years of experience in the criminal justice system, Ron Ruiz has already demonstrated that he has the "people's skills" that it takes to be an effective District Attorney. He has shown that he respects people and their views, that he can listen to and cooperate with people, that he is open and approachable. Recently the District Attorney's inspectors considered the qualifications and track records of both candidates and overwhelmingly voted in favor of Ron Ruiz continuing as their chief.

For the good of the community and it's public safety, as well as for the good of the District Attorney's Office itself, the District Attorney must be able to effectively work closely and cooperatively with the Chiefs of Police and the Sheriff on a daily basis. Every single Chief of Police has endorsed Ron Ruiz . Once again this demonstrates Ron Ruiz's ability to work with, respect and cooperate with other people.

Ron Ruiz has lived in Santa Cruz since 1966. He is married and has 5 children, all of whom have been raised and educated in Santa Cruz.