Letter to the editor: Take long look at judicial candidates’ backgrounds

The local GOP Chair recently sent out an e-mail saying Republicans support the challengers to three incumbent Supreme Court justices - all of whom were appointed by Governor Pawlenty. For years the majority of our Supreme Court justices have been appointed by Republican governors. We choose whether to re-elect them when their terms are up (they’re often unopposed, always re-elected). Is it a perfect system? No, but it works as well as any out there. Is there a good reason to throw these folks off the bench? I don’t know of one. So why are Republicans supporting candidates running against Republicans? I suspect our current justices just aren’t extreme enough for some.

The challengers want to do away with our current judicial election system and replace it with partisan rough-and-tumble campaigns. Out-of-state money would undoubtedly arrive to influence these elections (remember Iowa). Judges who need to be unbiased would end up beholden to the special interests and corporate money which put them there.

We have an obligation to check out the backgrounds of these challengers. Do they honestly have the qualifications to serve on our state’s highest court? A law license and an agenda are not all that is necessary.

Repetitive challenger Tingelstad is most frightening. He has plainly stated that he would rule from the Bible first, and from our constitution and state statutes second. He believes that separation of church and state is a “myth.”

Do your homework, think for yourself, then in November turn that ballot over and vote on the judges. We can ignore judicial races no longer.

Carol Turnbull - Woodbury

Tags: letters to the editor, opinion, elections, updates