Deputy DA running for El Dorado County judge

By Kathryn Reed

Prosecuting bad guys is what Vicki Ashworth has been doing for the last 16 years. Now she wants to be the judge in those cases.

Ashworth is running for the El Dorado County Superior Court judgeship being vacated by Doug Phimister.

For the past 14 years Ashworth has worked in the El Dorado County District Attorney’s Office, and was with the Amador County DA’s Office the previous two years. She has spent her time in Placerville handling every type of case possible – from homicides to domestic violence to fraud to sexual assault to general felonies.

Vicki Ashworth

“My career has been devoted to serving the community where I lived, where I raised my children. Being a judge allows me to continue serving my community, but in a different fashion,” Ashworth told Lake Tahoe News.

Ashworth believes she would be able to easily make the transition from being an advocate for a client to being impartial on the bench.

“What a lot of people don’t realize is you do that a lot as a prosecutor. Honestly, before I file a case or settle or decide to go forward to trial, you really do have to look at all the facts,” Ashworth said.

She believes her boss, Vern Pierson, is doing a good job and has no desire to run for his seat.

Ashworth would not be the first El Dorado County judge to come from the DA’s office. Judges Suzanne Kingsbury and James Wagoner are two who have.

The 43-year-old has had aspirations of being on the bench for at least four years. She went through the Jenny Commission process that scrutinizes judges for possible gubernatorial appointment. She made it through, but then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger picked Curt Stracener.

Kingsbury is the only female judge in the county. Ashworth doesn’t fret about going into a male-dominated environment because that’s all she’s known throughout her professional life.

And she said she is already good at not talking to her husband about work. He’s a captain in the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Department.

“The most important thing to me is my ethics and my integrity. It’s something I’ve taken very seriously my entire career. It’s not something I would jeopardize or put into question,” Ashworth said.