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Judge calls for public funding of judicial elections
Posted: 10/30/2009 9:40:15 AM
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Judge calls for public funding of judicial elections
Posted: Wednesday, October 28, 2009 12:00 am | Updated: 11:28 pm, Tue Oct 27, 2009.
By Dan Holtz Leader-Telegram staff
Eau Claire County Judge Benjamin Proctor is frustrated over the last two state Supreme Court elections.
Primarily through advertising - some funded by special-interest groups - sides were being taken "and misinformation was being foisted on the public," Proctor said Tuesday.
Proctor was particularly troubled by ads from the 2008 election, in which Burnett County Judge Michael Gableman defeated then-Justice Louis Butler.
Proctor considers both men his friends.
"But what was being said in those ads were not who they are," the judge said.
Judges want to be perceived as fair and impartial, "and certainly nonpartisan," Proctor said.
Proctor joined Lt. Gov. Barbara Lawton at an Eau Claire news conference supporting Senate Bill 40, also known as the Impartial Justice Bill.
The bill allows for the full public financing of Supreme Court elections in Wisconsin.
The bill allows a candidate to receive up to $100,000 in funding for the primary and up to $300,000 for the general election.
Those amounts could increase if the candidate's opponent chooses not to accept public financing.
While a few options on how to fund the public financing are being debated in the Legislature, one option increases the election financing checkoff on state income tax returns from $1 to $3.
The Impartial Justice Bill will "help us change the culture of elections in Wisconsin," Lawton said.
Special-interest money "is undermining our confidence in our system," she said.
Lawton said nearly $6 million was spent on the 2007 Supreme Court race between Annette Ziegler and Linda Clifford, $4.8 million of it by special-interest groups.
Similar legislation has been proposed each of the past 10 years. This bill would only affect Supreme Court races, she said.
Some people suggest appointing judges, but Proctor said it's important for all people to decide who should become judges.
"Elections, while not being perfect, are the best way to deal with judges," he said.
The Impartial Justice Bill "is a small step, but it's a critical step," Proctor said.
Holtz can be reached at 833-9207, 800-236-7077 or dan.holtz@ecpc.com.
Read this story online:
http://leadertelegram.com/local_news/story/article_7f913215-7e3a-5695-aea2-dabe0848a73d.html
