The election of state Supreme Court judges rarely receives much attention, and this year is no exception. For Position 5, I urge you to vote for Kittitas County Prosecutor Greg Zempel. Zempel is endorsed by a long list of law enforcement organizations and county prosecutors, both Republican and Democrat. One of his basic concerns with the existing Supreme Court is the belief that it has been ignoring longstanding precedents and actually changing laws.

On Oct. 5, the Spokesman-Review endorsed current Supreme Court judge Barbara Madsen for re-election. A review of her endorsers and campaign contributions reveals that her major supporters and financial backers are public employee labor unions, including the SEIU and multiple teachers unions. It should come as no surprise then that Judge Madsen’s most recent claim to fame was writing the decision to essentially shut down all charter schools in the state of Washington.

If you want a Supreme Court judge who does the bidding for public employee labor unions, then Barbara Madsen is your candidate. However, if you want an independently minded judge with extensive experience as a prosecutor and widespread support among county prosecutors, both Republican and Democrat, then elect Greg Zempel.

Gerald Click

Spokane