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Joseph Townsend on Wendy Davis
There are many reasons to support Wendy Davis for Judge and I would like the opportunity to reveal the reasons why I support Wendy. Some of the reasons are clear differences between the three candidates and being at the debate at IPFW these are differences that were outlined there as well.
- I want a Judge who believes in the current system of being elected BY THE PEOPLE for the position. Wendy is the only candidate who supports the election of Judges by the people. The other two candidates are on record of supporting a merit based system for Judges. Election by the people is the only way to keep the election of a judge as non-partisan as possible. In a merit based system and especially an appointed system, which is the way Judge Scheibenberger became judge, there is too much partisan politics involved in who becomes Judge.
- I want a Judge who is not afraid to say they support law enforcement. This is another debatable issue that is being put before us when we decide who we want to be our next Judge. Those who support Judge Scheibenberger argue that you cannot be pro law enforcement and be fair from the bench. I, as well as most Wendy Davis supporters, completely disagree with this assessment. I think a good analogy would be those who have signs and bumper stickers that say “I support the military.” In saying this, this does not mean that I support each and every thing that every single military person does or that I am going to support every single thing that every military person says. I think every President supports the military; however, that does not mean that they are not afraid to disagree with the military when they are wrong. The same is true in this situation. Just because Wendy Davis supports law enforcement does not mean that she does not have the ability to determine when they are doing something out of line.
- Just like everyone else I want a Judge with experience. Every single candidate in this race has experience though, so arguing experience is a void argument. Of course the older a candidate the more experience they have, but all 3 candidates in this race have different experience that could be argued to make them rightly qualified for the job.
- As Lewis Griffin argued at the IPFW debate, the actions of a Judge OUTSIDE OF THE COURTROOM should in fact be a part of the debate for who is best qualified for Judge. Outside of the courtroom Wendy Davis has been an exemplary citizen working closely with the NAACP, United Way, and Youth for Christ. She has been involved with most of these organizations for many years and I am sure will continue to be involved with them for many more years to come.
- Finally, I want a Judge who treats this as a non-partisan election. Wendy Davis has done this and has grasped the support of party faithfuls Cathy Hawks and Mike Gouloff. She has also grasped the outspoken support of six out of nine city council persons. Glynn Hines, Karen Goldner, Tim Pape (Democrats on City Council) and Mitch Harper, Tom Didier, and Liz Brown (Republicans on City Council) have all formally endorsed Wendy Davis for Judge. She has more Democrat and Republican support of any person currently running for any office. It is clear that in a partisan world, Wendy Davis has refrained from partisan politics and her endorsements are proof of this.
For all these reasons and more I would like to encourage everyone concerned about the future of Allen County to vote for Wendy Davis on November 2nd.