Time to fix flawed judicial elections
In his column this morning, Marty Trillhaase/Lewiston Tribune comments:
A year ago, then-state Sen. Curt McKenzie, R-Nampa, came as close to claiming a seat on Idaho’s Supreme Court as possible - without actually getting one.
It did not seem to matter that McKenzie was not particularly qualified to sit on Idaho’s highest court.
Or that his opponents for the seat being vacated by then-Chief Justice Jim Jones had far more credentials. Among them were Idaho Court of Appeals Judge Sergio Gutierrez, who had 15 years on the appellate court and another six as a District Court judge; Clive Strong, who for three decades served as the head of the attorney general’s Natural Resources Division; and Rupert attorney Robyn Brody, who had practiced law for 20 years.
What mattered most was that all four were running in an election - and not just any election. They were facing off in the May 16 primary in which Republican voters have a 4-to-1 advantage over Democrats.
Even though the judicial campaign was nonpartisan, McKenzie traded on his 14 years as a Republican politician. More here.
* This story was originally published as a post from the blog "Huckleberries Online." Read all stories from this blog