Joe Nelson, Staff Writer
Posted: 03/09/2010 06:41:43 PM PST

A Barstow attorney of more than 20 years announced Tuesday he will seek the seat held by San Bernardino County District Attorney Michael A. Ramos in the June primary.

Bob Conaway, who in previous years made unsuccessful runs for Congress, county supervisor and the Barstow Community College District, said Tuesday that he is “irritated with (Ramos’s) holier-than-thou attitude,” and believes Ramos is every bit as much of the problem as some of the current and former county officials his office is currently investigating.

“He may win, but I was not going to stand back and not say that this guy’s not part of the problem,” Conaway said Tuesday. “We need to lose him like a bad headache.”

Ramos declined to comment. His spokeswoman, Susan Mickey, released the following statement on his behalf:

“I am very proud of the many accomplishments of this office. I intend to run on my record and look forward to another four years as the District Attorney of San Bernardino County.”

On his blog, Conaway states the county “is reeling from corruption, rumors of corruption and the question of who may be next.”

“I have heard from trained and reputable professionals who went to the D.A.’s office with evidence of ongoing problems with the Assessor’s Office and being told they weren’t interested,” Conaway says on his blog.

He specified that those problems were after the resignation and arrest of former Assessor Bill Postmus, who along with former Assistant Assessor Jim Erwin is facing myriad criminal charges in a corruption scandal alleging malfeasance in the Assessor’s Office and alleged bribery and extortion in a landmark 2006 legal settlement between the county and a Rancho Cucamonga developer.

At the time of the settlement, Postmus was Chairman of the Board of Supervisors.

When asked to specify what the alleged ongoing problems in the Assessor’s Office are, Conaway referred the question to Alfred Palazzo before terminating the phone call.

Palazzo is running against appointed Assessor Dennis Draeger in the June primary.

In 2002, Conaway secured the Democratic nomination in the 25th Congressional District and unsuccessfully ran against Rep. Howard P. “Buck” McKeon, R-Santa Clarita. In 2004, he unsuccessfully sought the Democtratic nomintation for the same seat.

In 2008, he unsuccessfully ran against Brad Mitzelfelt for the First District supervisorial seat, and he also made an unsuccessful run for a seat on the Barstow Community College District’s board of trustees.

Conaway is a longtime member of the San Bernardino County Democratic Party and a former regional director of the state Democratice Party, said Carol Robb, chairwoman of the San Bernardino County Democratic Party.

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