Non-Partisan Candidate Qualification

Qualification for all non-partisan candidates starts June 23, 2008 and ends at Noon on June 28, 2008.  In Hall County, the only non-partisan races for us are the two State Court Judge positions held by Judge Gene Roberts and Charlie Wynne.  The fee for qualifying is a whopping $4,734.64!  My guesstimate of the annual salary for the positions based upon the qualifying fee is $157,821.34 per year or about $13,000 per month.  That works out to about $73 per hour.

Word on the street has it that Judge Wynne will draw competition this time.  I don’t think anyone is planning on running against Judge Roberts.  I still have my fingers crossed for Judge Baldwin.  Letters supporting him need to be sent in before June 24, 2008 to the Judicial Nominating Committee.

Some of the issues likely to be raised if there is a contested election are:  the cost/benefits of the “DUI Court” program, the overtime required by the Sheriff and Chief of Police for officers to sit in State Court “on call” for trials that never happen, ways to expedite the plea process, and courtroom demeanor and treatment of attorneys and defendants in court.  Probably the biggest campaign issue will be the selection and payment of attorneys appointed to represent indigent defendants.  There are issues about who is considered “indigent,” how the attorneys are selected to be appointed, and how they will be paid for the services provided.  Currently the Public Defender does NOT handle cases in State Court, but Brad Morris has put in a bid to provide those services on a per-case basis.

By the way, I think that ALL elected officials should be on a partisan basis.  I hold the opinion that non-partisan races allow liberal Democrats to hide in the open and claim to be “conservative” when in fact they are not.  Having a party affiliation is some indication of the philosophy the elected official will carry into office.  However, having integrity to uphold those philosophical views is critical to their execution.  The meek and the week are easily confused and led by their noses down the wrong path.