Jan Goldsmith was a Republican assemblyman from rural San Diego County best known for carrying unsuccessful legislation to legalize ferrets - an issue that still floats around the Capitol.
The ferret bill was not kind to Goldsmith's image in the Capitol, especially when he showed up one day wearing an ill-fitting toupee. Willie Brown, the long-serving speaker of the Assembly, commented about the ferret bill's chances of passage. He pointed to Goldsmith on the other side of the Assembly chambers and quipped: "That bill is as dead as that thing on his head."
Goldsmith eventually became a San Diego County Superior Court judge but is returning to politics as a candidate for San Diego city attorney, challenging the highly controversial incumbent, Mike Aguirre, who's been widely criticized for his shoot-from-the-hip style and his feuds with other politicians, including San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders.
This week, the San Diego Republican Party released a poll showing Goldsmith is the strongest challenger to Aguirre, leading the incumbent by a 52 percent to 29 percent margin in a head-to-head matchup.
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