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Down-Ballot '08

I am sure you have all sorted out the Presidential race already, but there are lots of other races on the ballot this year. About half of them are partisan (ie Dems vs. Reps), but quite a few are not. Let's take a look at the non-partisan races...

Bob Edmunds vs. Suzanne Reynolds - Supreme Court - Justice Edmonds is an expert in criminal law, while Ms. Reynolds is NC's foremost authority on family law matters - area of expertise that is otherwise lacking on the Supreme Court. Edmonds is the conservative and has lots of backing from the law-enforcement community (including 89 NC Sherrifs), whereas Reynolds is supported by the NC Association of Educators, the Social Workers organization etc.

John Martin (unopposed) - Court of Appeals - I have heard no complaints about Judge Martin and I suppose the fact that he is running unopposed speaks volumes about the situation.

Jewel Farlow vs. Jim Wynn - Court of Appeals - Doug Clark wrote an interesting column on this race in the Greensboro News & Record which is worth a read: http://blog.news-record.com/staff/offtherecord/archives/2008/04/my_column_today_2.shtml It left me with a clear conclusion that Farlow is a curious candidate and Jim Wynn is an excellent Judge.

Sam Ervin IV vs. Kristin Ruth - Court of Appeals - This race is a bit of an embarassment of riches for Democrats. Both candidates are well-qualified Democrats. Ervin is the son or grandson of the former Senator of the same name. Ruth has been noted for her commitment to Child Support Enforcement issues. I think it is interesting to note that Ruth was endorsed by the Independent, and the Peoples Alliance among others, while Ervin's endorsements include the NC State Troopers' Association and the NC Police Benevolent Association. I think Democrats are pretty genuinely torn about this race.

Cheri Beasley vs. Doug McCullough - Court of Appeals - Retired Marine Corps Col. Doug McCullough is the Republican incumbent in this race. He is being challenged by Democrat Cheri Beasley who attended Rutgers and Oxford Universities and received he Juris Doctor degree from UT-Knoxville. She is a District Court Judge in Fayetteville.

Dan Barrett vs. Linda Stephens - Court of Appeals - Linda has been a Court of Appeals Judge for a long time and most Orange County lawyers are supporting her. Dan Barrett is a very knowledgable attorney has written some notable legal treatises, but he is also a self-described conservative Republican who wants to make NC a more conservative place.

John Arrowood vs. Bob Hunter - Court of Appeals - John Arrowood is the first out-gay person to hold statewide elected office in North Carolina. He was appointed by Gov. Easley to complete the term of a judge who left office (can't recall who left or why, but you can google it if you care). Hunter is an experience attorney and has been endorsed by one of NC's most conservative congressmen, Howard Coble, as well as former congressman and Born-Again Christian activist Bill Cobey.

Chuck Anderson (unopposed) - District Court - Chuck Anderson is a great judge who richly deserves support in his re-election bid.

Alonzo Coleman vs. Betsy Wolfenden - District Court - Lonnie Coleman is the incumbent and Betsy Wolfenden is the challenger. Wolfenden has used OP to make the case for her candidacy: http://orangepolitics.org/user/betsyforjudge - but I don't find it convincing and I am voting for Coleman.

Glenn Gerding vs. Page Vernon - District Court - We have two talented and experienced attorneys running in this race. This is effectively a runoff from the primary election last May. Vernon was way ahead back in May (7,356 to 21,303) but we are required to have the matter back on the ballot this fall. I am not sure that Gerding is really contesting the race at this point, but I think most of us are hoping he will run again at some point.

Beverly Scarlett (unopposed) - District Court - Beverly was an assistant DA before the Governor appointed her to the District Court bench 2 or 3 years ago. I believe she is the first African-American judge we've ever had in Orange County. I've had occassion to watch her in action as an Assistant DA and she was great in that role. By all accounts I hear she is doing a great job as judge as well.

Roger Tate (unopposed) - Soil & Water Conservation Supervisor - I have no reason to doubt Mr. Tate, though I don't know him personally. The soil and water conservation commissioners mostly (I believe) decide how to spend soil conservation grant money from the USDA. I don't know of any major issue that has arisen about this matter in the 20 years I have lived here.

I did this review of the down-ballot races a bit more swiftly than I have done in some years, so please let me know if you think I got it wrong on any of these races.

PRINTABLE SUMMARY: http://downballot.blogspot.com/

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Comments

Ballots

Submitted by AHands on October 15, 2008 - 3:30pm

Thanks!

Sample ballots:
http://www.co.orange.nc.us/elect/November42008SampleBallots.asp

The ballots here in Orange Co. differ only by NC House Districts, I think:

50-Faison
54-Hackney
56-Insko
all Dems, all unopposed

You can lookup your precinct here:
http://www.sboe.state.nc.us/VoterLookup.aspx

If you know your precinct, you can find your NC House district here:
http://www.co.orange.nc.us/elect/precincts.asp

Thanks Mark

Submitted by jstrope on October 16, 2008 - 9:51am

Mark,

I'm filling out my ballot this morning and was really glad to find this. Thanks for posting some very useful information!

Best,

-Jeff

Make History, Vote for Arrowood

Submitted by MikeNelson on October 16, 2008 - 12:00pm

Thanks for posting about these races, Mark. I've been getting loads of questions from folks about these non-partisan, down ballot races. Frankly, without the D or R next to the name on the ballot, it's hard to know whom to vote for in some of these races. Your summary of the choices is right on target.

Let me put in a special plug for Judge John Arrowood who is running to retain the Court of Appeals seat to which he was appointed last year.

If he wins, Arrowood will become the first openly gay person to be elected to statewide office in the South. While it's not high profile, this race could make history.

And Orange County can play a significant role. Let's face it, there are parts of the state that will resist voting for Arrowood because of anti-gay prejudice. We here in Orange County can counter-balance that prejudice by providing Arrowood a huge margin.

Judge Arrowood has been endorsed by virtually every organization and newspaper that has endorsed in this race. His hard work and fairness has won the respect of Democrats and Republicans alike. If you'd like to learn more about Arrowood, check out www.judgearrowood.com.

I've known Judge Arrowood for over a decade. I can't imagine a fairer or more decent judge. He deserves our support simply because he's good at what he does. But progressives should also know that his election would help chip away at anti-gay prejudice and create a more tolerant state.

I urge you to vote for Judge John Arrowood for the NC Court of Appeals.

"Frankly, without the D or R

Submitted by jstrope on October 16, 2008 - 12:44pm

"Frankly, without the D or R next to the name on the ballot, it's hard to know whom to vote for in some of these races"

Frankly, I'd like to see partisan advertising removed from the ballots altogether. In a day and age wherein the parties stand for so little, voting based on party affiliation is ill advised at best and dangerous at worst.

Well done, Mark

Submitted by Catherine DeVine on October 16, 2008 - 12:18pm

Many thanks, Mark. Your endorsements are quite helpful. Paying special attention this year to District Court in light of Pat's retirement, I was tempted to advise Ms. Wolfenden to quit campaigning on OP and get serious. But she presented a losing strategy from the start, and needed no help from me to take it elsewhere.

I thought there was an issue

Submitted by Poppalax on October 16, 2008 - 1:45pm

I thought there was an issue with Mr. Alonzo Coleman's age and not being able to serve the full term?

Not to put to fine a point on it, but . . .

Submitted by Mark Chilton on October 16, 2008 - 11:46pm

I hear complaints - often off the record - about some elected officials in our community. Sometimes the complaints are significant and sometimes dubious, but trust me I do hear about most things that happen. But I have never heard anyone (other than Ms. Wolfenden) complain about Judge Coleman. And I don't know a single lawyer who is supporting Ms. Wolfenden (although I imagine there must be a few).

When confronted head-on about the self-serving and possibly mendacious nature of her claims against Judge Coleman, Ms. Wolfenden has consistently retreated, hidden and dodged. Ms. Wolfenden spun an elaborate story on OP about an "anonymous" mother who supposedly had her parental rights abused by DSS and Judge Coleman. She gave an entirely one-sided and utterly unsupported version of events that put her opponent in a bad light. Then a UNC law professor confronted her on OP about whether she was in fact the lawyer for the supposed victim and Ms. Wolfenden said she wasn't. Subsequently, I learned that in fact Ms. Wolfenden does represent the woman and is either using this election to advance her client's cause or else using her clients cause to advance her election or both - either way it is, at best, distasteful.

If Ms. Wolfenden had something legit on Judge Coleman, then it seem like she would have come right out and said it. But she has nothing - other than the fact that Lonnie Coleman is long in the tooth. So what? So I should turn over the fate of victims, children, and battered women to Ms. Wolfenden? No thanks.

Maybe I have it all wrong. Maybe Ms. Wolfenden is a good person trying to do the right thing. But if that is so, then where is the evidence? Where's the beef?

But what about it?

Submitted by Ruby Sinreich on October 17, 2008 - 7:32am

Mark, I completely agree with your logic and am certainly not voting for Ms. Wolfenden after seeing her behavior here on OP. But it would still be helpful to have clarity on this age business. People threw that around when Adam Stein was a candidate for judge as well, but I still supported him then, too.

It would easier to make the case for Mr. Coleman if we know the whole story.

With a neutral opinion of

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on October 17, 2008 - 1:42pm

With a neutral opinion of Ms. Wolfenden, I'd probably have voted for her over Mr. Coleman based on the serving to term thing. But with the negative opinion I get from her postings here, I'll vote for him.

Kristin Ruth seems a better

Submitted by glorial on October 29, 2008 - 3:25am

Kristin Ruth seems a better choice in her race. I never like supporting legacy candidates, they have such an unfair advantage just from their names anyway. Ervin might win simply because of that.

Orange Dems didn't share her info

Submitted by Jake Gellar-Goad on October 29, 2008 - 5:35am

I was worried that she might do poorly b/c the original newspaper type voter guide the orange dems were passing out didn't have her info, did have Ervins, and said either candidate is a fine choice which creates a situation where it seems like people are being pushed to Ervin. I liked that Ruth got the Equality NC endorsement.
http://equalitync.org/pac/2008g

It was a misprint

Submitted by Paul Falduto on October 29, 2008 - 7:57am

I can tell you for sure Kristen Ruth was left out of the voter guide by accident. Our sample ballot notes that both candidates in this race are Democrats and makes no recommendation. An insert to the vote guide was printed with Ruth's information.

commissioner of agriculture advice?

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on October 29, 2008 - 12:53pm

I am filling out my absentee ballot this morning and am stuck on the commissioner of agriculture based on what i can find online to read about each candidate. I have read that both candidates hold biofeuls and sustainable & organic farming as important points, however I can't seem to find enough about the specifics of their platforms to feel satisfied with what their priorities are. And while I myself am a democrat, the fact that this appears to be Ronnie Ansley's FIFTH time (I read) seeking an office (each time a different office, and each time previously unsuccessful) worries me that his political aspirations may be more important to him than his focus on this position (also since I read he has a crop of never harvested trees that quailified him for running for this office this year). Can anyone who is more well informed help me figure this one out? I would greatly appreciate it.

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