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George, The outcome [of the upcoming judgeship election in the House and Senate] is uncertain. The chance remains that Jim Camblos, a lawyer not found by the Bar to be highly qualified for this position, might still get it, this despite his lack of any support among legislators in Charlottesville or Albemarle. Paul Harris did the right thing in backing Bob Downer after his Citizens Committee recommended him. All concerned should support that choice as well. Supporting Bob has nothing to do with party affiliation. It seems, however, that supporting Jim has much, if not everything to do with party affiliation. Make contact with legislators. Make contact, in particular, with all legislators on the Senate and House Courts of Justice Committees. Make contact, especially, with Republican Senators and Delegates. They are the ones who make the decisons on Judgeships, just as Democrats did for many decades. While in the majority, Democrats excluded Republican legislators from the judicial selection process and never modified the process, clinging stubbornly to that power as the GA inexorably slipped out of their hands in the 1990's. We can expect the Republicans to do no different. BUT, local Democrats never made membership in the Democratic Party a prerequisite to becoming a Judge. Paul Harris, despite a great deal of pressure from Jim and many Republicans statewide, has resisted pressure to make this a partisan matter by the process he followed in selecting Bob as his candidate. Jim has worked very hard to get Republican support, and the DP reported Sunday that Sen. Miller was, at that time, intending to support Jim. Back what has been a non-partisan, merit-based local process process by e-mailing, calling, faxing , and/or visiting legislators.The details are on the General Assembly website. The local delegation by party is: Sen Kevin Miller (R) Bruce Williamson (electronic mail, February 15, 2001)
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