Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Letter to the Editor - Support for Tim Healy by Joanne Snyder Randall

Dear Editor,
       I met Tim Healy when he was first running for Superior Court Judge this past spring.  Ron and I were both impressed with Tim’s honesty and work ethic.  We were encouraged by his hard work to promote justice in the court system.  During the primary election we allow all candidates to place signs on our property but during the general election we invite people to post signs.  We asked Tim to post signs but some candidates just put them up without permission.
     When considering candidates for Judge, I believe we want the person with the most courtroom experience practicing the law, and the person we can trust will have qualities we believe are important for a Judge to have.  Like: honesty, integrity, commitment to ensure every person who comes to court is treated with dignity and respect.  I believe that person is Tim Healy.   
     Tim is the only candidate for Department 2 who: has practiced law in the courtroom in the past 15 years; has EVER practiced criminal law in Court; has taught law school; or, has dedicated his professional career to public safety, victim’s rights and seeking justice for everyone.
     Some hay has been made about the appointment process for Judges.  I’ve learned a little bit lately about how judges are appointed.  Let me share with you some of what I’ve learned. 
First, Gov. Brown appointed Tim’s opponent, not the Judicial Nominee Evaluation Commission (JNE).  While the JNE commission might be non-partisan, even Judge Mewhinney agrees, during an interview with the Enterprise, that any appointment from Gov. Brown is going to be political because he rarely appoints anyone from (any other political) party. 
In fact, one of the first questions for every Judicial applicant is: what political party affiliations have you had during your life?  This is hardly a non-partisan question.   
Tim did not seek Gov. Brown’s appointment because his wife was very sick with Leukemia and not expected to survive.  Tim believed it was more important for him to focus on his family than to seek a political appointment. 
      Finally, every single one of the 5 applicants who sought to replace Judge Mewhinney were found "qualified" - no one gets to know their rating past the initial "qualified".  A Governor can even appoint an applicant who receives an ‘unqualified’ rating by the JNE commission.  He doesn’t have to appoint the person with the highest rating; so much for their non-partisan recommendations. Getting the job by being selected by a Governor could not be any more political.  It is my opinion that had Tim’s wife not been ill, he would have applied and he would have also been found qualified.
      It seems to me that Tim’s opponent believes he is more qualified because he received a political appointment by a Democratic Governor.  I do not share this belief.  Courtroom experience practicing law and a dedication to justice are the best qualities for our next judge to have and should be the most import reasons to select our next Judge.
    Please join me in voting for Tim Healy for our next Judge in Department 2.
Regards,
Joanne Snyder Randall
Retired Teacher