Dear editor,
As we approach Nov. 8 the attack ads are rolling in. There are several ads saying we must remove Kansas activist judges. A friend pointed out that the word activist should never be used to describe a judge. An activist is someone who is actively involved in a protest or a political social cause. A judge interprets the law and is an impartial decision maker.
Several of the ads bring up a case from 16 years ago. Another ad says we must remove activist judges due to abortions with no limits. The only two judges who have escaped the wrath are Caleb Stegall and Kathryn Gardner that were appointed by Brownback. Even so, I would think these two judges would be ethical and moral in their decision making.
I feel these attacks on judges are a veiled attempt to replace judges in order to overturn a decision by our trial court that said “beyond any question,” our state system of financing public schools was unconstitutional because it distributed money unfairly and did not provide adequate funding. The Kansas Supreme Court upheld that trial court ruling.
Please vote to retain our justices. Our merit system for picking a judge has worked since 1958. Four former Kansas governors, two Democrats and two Republicans, are speaking out to retain our judges.
The egregious amount of money spent on misleading attack ads in this community could have been well spent on USD 257.
Penny Haberland,
Iola, Kan.
Letter to the editor — October 27, 2016
