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 “Aardvark, also called antbear, stocky African mammal found south of the Sahara Desert in savanna and semiarid areas. The name aardvark—Afrikaans for ‘earth pig’—refers to its piglike face and burrowing habits.”

Michael Nava was fascinated by the set of encyclopedias set on a high shelf of his grandparents’ home. The Mexican immigrants did not have many books in their house, but they had purchased the set from a traveling salesman, perhaps hoping that one of their grand children would be inspired to pick up a volume or two.

Michael took it one step farther. Early in elementary school, he climbed the back of his grandfather’s armchair, careful not to knock his grandmother’s plant from the shelf, and pulled down the first volume. That day Michael, eager for knowledge, vowed to read every entry in every volume, cover to cover, “A” to “Z”.

Over the next ten years, he read through the set volume by volume. He read them in the living room, as his family watched TV. He read them in the fields behind his family’s house in the Sacramento summer heat. He read them tucked away in his bed, on many a wet winter’s day.

By the time he left for college, Michael had fulfilled that promise he made to himself. The time he spent was rewarded immeasurably, returning knowledge and inspiration. Abraham Lincoln proved particularly inspirational, first moving him to memorize the Gettysburg Address. Years later, at Norte Del Rio High School, it drove him to take up debate, winning numerous regional competitions and competing at State three years running.

After high school, he was able to win a scholarship to attend Colorado College, where he excelled as a student and a writer. He used that success as a springboard, launching a successful legal career, after earning his J.D. from Stanford Law.

An Accomplished Author
Beyond his great success in the law, Michael is an accomplished novelist and poet. His legal mysteries follow the career of Henry Rios, the “hardboiled detective who stands outside society and, as a consequence, sees more clearly than most its dark side.”

“A man who is obsessed with his work, Rios is a relentless defender of outsiders who are otherwise defenseless, most of them young gay men who are victims of a homophobic or exploitative society. In the process of defending them, he proves himself a tenacious and insightful detective.” (http://www.glbtq.com/literature/nava_m.html)

Five of the seven novels in the series have won the Lambda Award, as the best gay male mystery of the year.

A Career in Public Service
After graduating from Stanford and passing the bar, Michael began his career as a prosecutor in the Los Angeles City Attorney’s office. There, he earned the respect of his employer as well as his opponents, for his intelligence and tenacity as well as the compassion and fairness, which guided his work.

After a brief stint with Horvitz & Levy, Michael took a position as a staff attorney for Arleigh Maddox Woods, the first African-American woman appointed to the California Court of Appeal. He worked on hundreds of appeals in every field of the law, criminal, civil, family, juvenile and probate. His proudest moment in this office was working a case called Jasperson v. Jessica’s Nail Clinic (1989), a landmark decision to uphold an antidiscrimination ordinance to protect people with HIV/AIDS.

In 1999 he joined the staff of the California Supreme Court and later became staff attorney for Justice Carlos Moreno, who is best known for his heartfelt and eloquent defense of equal rights in his dissent against the Proposition 8 decision.

After a long career in public service, Michael has assuredly done his part to ensure that his favorite quote, “The government by the people and for the people shall not perish from the earth,” spoken by his hero, remains as true this day, as when it was spoken seven score and seven years ago.

It is in this sprit of service and dedication to fairness for all that Michael Nava is asking the people of San Francisco to elect him to be Superior Court Judge.

“I am running for judge because I want to an agent for justice. I will be the kind of judge whose standard of fairness and impartiality will increase public respect for the legal system and I want to a symbol and a mentor to young people - especially the disadvantaged - to show them what hard work and intelligence can achieve in America..”

Supporting Our Own
Proud to help a successful son of Sacramento and an active and influential member of the LGBT community, Mike Whiteside and David McPeek are inviting the community to their home in support of Michael Nava.

Rebecca Sandoval, Sacramento Stonewall Democrats, Sac Legal, Dennis Mangers & Michael Sestak, Trudy Robles, Mary Ann Massenburg, Bob Purcell, Alice Kessler and LULAC Lorenzo Patino Council join them in hosting the event.

What: Sangria and Carne Asada with Michael
Where: The Home of Mike Whiteside and David McPeek, 4361 South Land Park Drive
When: Saturday, February 6, 2010, 5 pm to 7 pm

Contribution level: $50, $100, $250, $500

To learn more about Michael please visit http//www.navaforjudge.com

For more information on the event, please contact Rebecca Sandoval at rebecavs@surewest.net