We didn’t want to make some of these comments and observations prior to the election, but we think they should be made now.
Our first observation is that the General Assembly should make changes to the statutes dealing with the governor’s (any governor’s) appointments of successors to district court judges.
In our view, the governor (any governor) should be bound to fill a vacancy with someone from the same political party as the judge who is being replaced.
For instance, most notably, when Republican district court judge Rick Champion resigned last December – in order to accept an appointment as the county’s first public defender – it was left to the governor to appoint a successor to serve out the remaining 11 months or so of his term.
Champion is one of only two district court judges we can remember who were Republicans at the time of their election. (Steve Messick having been the first, appointed by then governor Pat McCrory, a Republican, in 2015, and then elected in 2016.)
Now, first a word about Governor Roy Cooper’s selection of Doug Green, a fellow Democrat, to serve out the balance of Champion’s term.
Green was the leading vote-getter among the county’s bar members, who met and made three recommendations for filling the vacancy.
In our judgment, he has done a stellar job during his months on the bench – notwithstanding the decision of voters in this week’s election to replace him with Republican Craig Turner.
But, it seems to us, it was inappropriate for the governor to appoint a Democrat to fill the remaining months of an elected Republican judge’s term in office. And, quite frankly, all the more so when the Democratic appointee was the very person the Republican judge had defeated in the most recent election, in 2020.
For most other offices – most notably, and frequently, county commissioners – the remaining board members are required to fill a vacancy with the person from the same party as designated by that party’s executive committee.
A similar format applies to replacements for members of the General Assembly in both the state house and the state senate. In such cases, the governor is required to appoint a replacement of the same political party as the vacated officeholder (whether by death or resignation), as recommended by the political party’s executive committee.
So, too, in our judgment should be the process for appointing a district court judge.
Is there a difference in Republican vs. Democratic justice? That can be a debate of great length and many, diverse opinions. But the short answer, it seems to us, is that the governor should have to conform to the wishes of the electorate who selected a Republican, of whatever variety (Champion happened to have been an excellent district court judge), rather than substituting someone of his own political party.
Under current law, the local bar association convenes to recommend up to three candidates, from whom the governor can then appoint a successor.
We don’t object to the possible blending of the two formats; if so, it may be that the county bar association’s input could still be sought, but they should be limited to consideration of contenders of the same party as the person who vacated the open position.
Then the governor could appoint one of those people, preferably the highest-ranking of those recommended.
Another hybrid approach would be to allow the party executive committee to make the final decision among the three bar association recommendations, the selection of whom would be required to be appointed by the governor.
Now, one more word on Doug Green. As a Democrat, and if he would be interested, he would be a perfectly logical choice for Governor Roy Cooper’s consideration to fill the vacancy in superior court caused by the October 1 retirement of senior resident superior court judge Tom Lambeth, a Democrat.
We want to underscore our objection is not all to him, neither personally nor professionally, but to the process by which he was appointed to the district court bench by Gov. Cooper.
