Posted on 02/25/2004 11:28:25 AM PST by SwinneySwitch
Republicans get chance to undo a mistake they made two years ago.
It's still February, but the March primary is nearly upon us. In the movie "Groundhog Day," a cynical TV weatherman is trapped into reliving the same day until he gets it right. Like Phil Connors in the movie, Texas voters have a chance to get it right in this election and correct a mistake made two years ago.
The most important judicial race on the March 9 Republican primary ballot is the Supreme Court contest for Place 5 between Steven Wayne Smith and Paul Green.
Smith was elected two years ago to fill an unexpired term. He gained fame as the attorney who filed the Hopwood suit, which stopped race and ethnicity from being considered in admissions to the University of Texas. During the campaign two years ago, he was criticized for making racist remarks. Still, he beat Xavier Rodriguez, a highly qualified judge appointed to the court by Gov. Rick Perry. Smith may have won simply because primary voters picked an Anglo name over a Hispanic. If that election was a test for the Republican Party, and its drive for greater diversity, it failed.
In this campaign, Smith has angered some by calling St. Mary's Law School a "second-tier" school. He later apologized.
Smith's primary opponent is Paul Green, an appellate judge on San Antonio's Fourth Court of Appeals for 10 years. Many GOP party leaders, worried about the party's "Big Tent" outreach image, are backing Green. Two former Supreme Court justices, Craig Enoch and Deborah Hankinson, endorsed him.
The Caller-Times Editorial Board recommends the election of Paul Green.
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals is the state's "supreme court" for criminal matters. Its members are not as well known or as well-financed as their counterparts on the Supreme Court. This year, three Republican incumbents on the court are running for re-election. All have primary opponents.
In Place 2, Lawrence "Larry" Myers is seeking a third six-year term. Before he was elected in 1992, Myers had experience as a prosecutor and defense attorney in Fort Worth. His opponent, Guy James Gray, gained acclaim for prosecuting the three white men in the Jasper dragging case. While Gray has solid credentials as a prosecutor, the Court of Criminal Appeals is packed with former prosecutors. Of the court's nine members, seven have some experience on the prosecution side.
Myers, the first Republican elected to the court, has been a fair-minded centrist on a tribunal that has tilted too far to the right. An incumbent who has done a good job deserves another term.
The Editorial Board recommends the re-election of Lawrence Myers.
In Place 5, Cheryl Johnson is running for a second term. She was first elected in 1998. Before joining the court, she practiced appellate law in Austin. Her husband is a retired Austin police officer. She has been described as a firm believer in defendants' rights, but takes umbrage when called "liberal." She said that protecting individual rights is the ultimate conservatism. Her opponent, Patricia Noble, is well qualified, with 18 years in the Dallas district attorney's office, but, as noted, the court is top-heavy with former prosecutors.
The Editorial Board recommends the re-election of Cheryl Johnson.
In Place 6, Michael Keasler, the incumbent, was also elected in 1998. He's seeking his second term. Before being elected to the court, he was a state district judge in Dallas; before that, he was a prosecutor for 17 years. His opponent is Steven M. Porter, an attorney from Boerne, a retired Army colonel, and a certified public accountant. At 73, Porter's age could be considered a factor in the race. The winner will face Democrat J.R. Molina, a Fort Worth attorney, in the general election.
In the primary contest, the Editorial Board recommends the re-election of Michael Keasler.
Except, I voted for them yesterday while the board will probably be voting in the demonrat primary.
Vote early and vote often!
Thanks for posting this.
bttt for later ...
"Second tier"???? They should be overjoyed!
I voted yesterday too.I also voted for Keasler and Myers and everyone that this article is saying to vote for, except for one. I voted for Patricia Noble instead of Cheryl Johnson. I wasn't sure which to vote for so I sent them an email asking each why I should vote for them instead of for the opponent. I got a reply back from Noble and it was a nice, personal reply with all good comments. I didn't hear back from Johnson until about 2 hours after I voted for Noble. It was a note from her husband, actually. He said that she was out of town and rather than have me wait for a reply, he did. It was a really nice note too. I think they are both well-qualified, and would see justice is properly done in the cases they oversee.
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