As the Ventura County election results rolled in Nov. 3, Gary Windom knew it was time for a change. For the second time in 14 years as a deputy public defender, Windom had fallen short in a run for a judge's seat.

It was time to seek new opportunities.

Windom found a challenge.

On Sept. 22, the veteran criminal-defense attorney took the helm of Riverside County's often tumultuous public defender's office. Five predecessors in two decades had left the office dogged by discord. Now, county officials are trying to determine whether deputy public defenders mishandled cases in which a private conservator allegedly stole from sick and elderly clients.

Windom, 49, greets the future with confidence. It is the same attitude he displays over the snubs of Ventura County voters.

"Their loss," Windom said, his voice resolute. "You know what? They lost one of the best judges they could have had. They just don't know it yet."

In the Ventura County Courthouse, colleagues and adversaries alike describe Windom as a man of integrity, a family man with strong religious beliefs who handled the toughest cases. They say Windom developed a reputation as a lawyer with a passion for defending indigent clients.

Michael Case, a private attorney running for Congress in Ventura County, said people are drawn to Windom. At a party, Windom introduced Case around the room. When people spotted Windom, "their eyes would light up, their smiles would form, and they would break the conversation they were in to come over and talk to Gary," Case said. "I'd trust anything he told me."

Ventura County Public Defender Kenneth Clayman recalled a case in which Windom represented a man facing more than two dozen sex charges. The defendant said he wanted a real attorney, not a public defender, Clayman said.

Windom kept the case and won acquittal on all counts. After the verdicts, the defendant made a public statement.

"The statement was, `My attorney is a God,' " Clayman said. "You can't get much better than godliness."

Jurors also react to Windom's passion and realize he is not simply going through the motions, Ventura County Superior Court Judge Kevin J. McGee said.

"Jurors are looking to see, does this person care about the person (he's) representing?" McGee said. "People who tried cases against Gary knew they were in for a fight."

Last year, when McGee defeated Windom in the judicial election, McGee was Ventura County's chief assistant prosecutor.

To many, the race boiled down to district attorney against defense attorney. In Ventura County, conservative views blanket the mostly rural region like the morning overcast that spills in from the ocean. Some cast the matchup as good guy versus bad guy, attorney who puts criminals in prison versus attorney who tries to get them off.

"This is a law-and-order county," McGee said. "That's a tough sell."

The fight got tougher when McGee's supporters thought he was losing, Windom said. Fourteen judges supported McGee in a letter used in a newspaper ad, and one judge appeared in a radio spot urging voters to follow the judges' lead. Both were unusual in typically nonpartisan judicial races and caused a clamor in the legal community.

Windom said the ads implied he did not have the credibility, integrity and cultural values needed to be a judge. He also said he wondered if the criticism wasn't focused more on the fact he was a Democrat, a public defender and a black man.

In response to the ads, Windom said he told voters: "I believe in God. I believe in families. I believe in the American way."

Born in Oxnard, Windom was the second of seven children. His father, a construction worker with a sixth-grade education, decided his children would tread a different path.

"He said none of his kids would be like him," Windom recalled.

Homework and classes were a priority. Friends might stay out late but Windom had a 10 p.m. curfew. If he or a sibling landed in trouble at school, any grief from teachers paled compared with dealing with their father.

"He'd paddle us in front of the teacher," Windom said.

In addition to a lawyer, the brothers and sisters include a dentist, a senior vice president for an insurance company and a nurse.

After high school, Windom went to California State University, Santa Barbara, then received his law degree from Marquette University in Milwaukee.

He returned home, practicing civil law for 11 years before joining the Ventura County public defender's office 14 years ago. Windom said the move eventually allowed him to spend more time with his family -- his wife of 30 years, four daughters and three grandchildren.

Family is paramount. Nine years ago, his identical twin brother needed a kidney transplant. Both families sat down, discussed the dangers and decided as a group that Windom should donate a kidney to his brother. Today, both brothers are in good health.

The switch to public defender held advantages beyond family commitments, Windom said. Ensuring the best legal representation for people who cannot afford their own attorney is an issue of fairness, he said.

And while Windom works with indigent clients, he also moves easily in a more upscale crowd.

The Tower Club in Oxnard offers some of the most spectacular vistas along the central coast short of a mountain top. Inside, light from an iron chandelier as tall as a man is split by beveled mirrors that line the staircase to the restaurant and bar.

A private club on the 21st floor is an unusual place to find a public defender, even one who so thoroughly dispels the stereotype of rumpled suits and hippie holdovers. Windom joined the club years ago and said his membership helps him network.

If you had to describe Windom, who always sports a well-cut suit, natty would be a better fit. Gordon Cox, a Riverside County deputy public defender, noticed during Windom's first week on the job that his boss seems to wear his suit coat -- with one button buttoned -- at all times.

Professionalism, including appearance and court demeanor, will be a priority in the office, Windom said.

His reputation, coupled with a history of volunteering for the most difficult cases, inspired confidence in Windom before he even arrived in Riverside County.

"We finally have somebody who everybody respects in the office," Cox said. "We've had a bunch of people in (the past) who were administrators more than they were lawyers."

If there is a question about Windom's ability to run the office it centers on management experience. Windom acknowledges he has never run a department or supervised a staff of attorneys. However, Windom said, he has been in charge of budgets and staffing for various nonprofit groups.

Goals and timetables that he will set will be carried out with help from administrators within the department, he said. Windom also plans to attend management classes and seminars.

Among the challenges, the conservatorship issue looms as one of the largest. In March, Riverside County prosecutors began investigating allegations that a Riverside firm appointed in Superior Court had stolen furniture, money and other valuables from clients.

In court documents, prosecutors said Bonnie Cambalik, co-owner of West Coast Conservatorships Inc., told investigators she and a partner, Ramona Saenz, skimmed more than $100,000 from clients' estates. No charges have been filed in the case.

It appears that deputy public defenders representing people who needed conservators did nothing illegal, Windom said. And while information still is being gathered, it is possible deputy public defenders might have made some poor decisions, he said.

Windom said a county official told him that some people in the public defender's office apparently accepted gifts from Cambalik and socialized with her. One attorney also developed a friendship and apparently went on a trip with Cambalik, he said. Those facts present at least an appearance that there was a conflict of interest, he said.

"That, to me, is out of hand," Windom said.

Some problems developed because previous administrators did not properly supervise employees in the office, Windom said. He plans to rotate attorneys to avoid burnout and ensure no one stays too long in the same job. Spot checks will be instituted in cases throughout the office and Windom will talk with judges about his employees' performance in court.

Windom also wants to help the more than 80 attorneys in the office reach their potential. Education and training programs will be expanded, said Windom, who is a professor at the Ventura College of Law and for years has developed educational programs for attorneys through the California Public Defender's Association. Next year, he will be installed as the organization's president at the annual meeting in Palm Springs.

Attorneys who reach level four, one of the top designations in the office, should handle the most difficult cases, Windom said.

"If you don't want to, then perhaps you should volunteer to be a level three," Windom said.

Other issues include public defenders turning over criminal cases to private attorneys because of possible conflicts, such as a previous lawyer/client relationship. Some members of the Board of Supervisors have complained that the public defender declares too many conflicts.

Windom said conflicts will be declared only when absolutely necessary or required by law.

As he examines these issues, Windom said, it is important that everyone knows he is committed to the job. Some day, maybe there will be a seat on the bench, he said. But Windom is withdrawing his name from a list of applicants seeking appointment to open judicial positions to underscore his commitment.

Despite his enthusiasm, some friends and colleagues in Ventura County greeted his departure with sadness and worry.

In an elevator near the public defender's office in Ventura, someone scribbled "BYE BYE" on a flyer touting Windom's goodbye party. At the bottom of the page was a more personal inscription: two kisses left by lips covered with red lipstick.

Jean Farley, a deputy public defender in Ventura County and longtime friend, said she will miss Windom.

"I'm in mourning," she said.

Farley also said she is worried because she feels the Riverside County Board of Supervisors, the media and others in the community have treated past public defenders unfairly.

"I do not believe that he is making a move that is in his best interest," Farley said. "I do not want to see our Gary confronted with that kind of treatment."

Windom said Farley expressed those concerns to him before he left Ventura.

"My response to her was when you have an opportunity, there are risks," he said. "But I believe I have the fortitude and talent to make a change that is positive."

Staff writer Mike Kataoka contributed to this report.

Raymond Smith can be reached by e-mail at raysmith@pe.net or by phone at (909) 782-7528.

Published 10/6/1999