Occasionally I am faced with a choice between two candidates whom I like. How do I choose?

When one of them is the “incumbent” (they already hold the office), I ask: “Has she or he done anything illegal or wrong? Have they failed to do the job?” If the answer to these two questions is “No”, then I will vote for the incumbent. This is a choice based on competency, not personality.

This is the choice I face when voting for Circuit Court Judge, Position 2: Beatrice Grace (incumbent) vs. Marty Wilde (challenger). I like them both. But Judge Grace has done nothing to forfeit the job. There is no reason to remove her from office.

Marty Wilde is a likable person. I voted for him for state representative. In other circumstances I would support him. But not in this case. He has an established political following, which will undoubtedly support his candidacy for any office. But this does not entitle him to evict a sitting judge. 

In my mind fairness favors Judge Grace.

Michael McCabe

Eugene