Bridwell: Fuller for Division 6 Superior Court Judge

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Dear Editor,

It’s almost inconceivable to believe that Pinal County has nine divisions for Superior Court judges, and all nine are from the same liberal activist party. The Superior Court judges are the feeder pool from which all judicial appointments are made for the highest judicial positions in the state and the nation. If anyone believes that judges are non-partisan and operate purely from a desire to serve justice, they are extremely naive. All judges start out as attorneys with a high interest and often high involvement in the political parties that dominate politics in our county, state and nation.

Generally, the Democratic philosophy is one where the majority of its members believe that the role of government in our lives should be an expanding role, and that philosophy generally creates an atmosphere that encourages higher taxes and legislation that increases government’s infringement on our lives. It also generally puts forth judicial candidates who are comfortable using their own liberal interpretations of the Constitution and our legislation. Democrats generally elect activist judges who are characterized as legislating from the bench.

The Republican philosophy, on the other hand, generally believes in limiting the role government plays in our lives, reducing the size of government at all levels and in turn reducing the tax burdens on the citizens. The attorneys that emerge from the Republican party as judicial candidates generally believe in what’s called constitutional interpretations of the law, looking at the language as it’s written and ruling on issues on the basis of a strict interpretation and not injecting their own ideas about the intent of the law.

On the County Superior Court level it’s often hard to differentiate which way a candidate leans. The laws that don’t permit identifying political affiliation of judicial candidates on the ballots make voter discernment a more difficult task. The rulings of incumbent Superior Court judges are usually in areas where judicial interpretation is very difficult to ascertain as well.

But here’s what we do know about the two candidates running for Division 6 Superior Court Judge. Janna Vanderpool is a Democrat being supported by clearly liberal politicians who have politically prospered by the overwhelming dominance that the incumbents have held in Pinal County forever. Her record, however, is described as unexemplary, and court insiders have indicated her tenure has been marked by sketchy attendance at her job.

Steve Fuller, on the other hand, has been a dynamo in the performance of his job as the top criminal prosecutor in Pinal County. His record of accomplishment and service has been remarkable and verifiable by anyone familiar with the court system in Pinal County regardless of party affiliation. Steve Fuller and his wife Amy are long-term active Republicansk, a position that often has worked against him politically in the internal workings of the Democrat-dominated judicial system and Pinal County Attorney’s office. Steve believes in a strict constitutional interpretation of the law but also believes in fair and unbiased implementation of the law. As our judge no one will say his performance and attention to his job has been unremarkable.

When we vote for Steve Fuller we get to elect the better-qualified candidate. As a bonus we start down the path of creating a judiciary that fairly represents the parity of the philosophical approaches to the law that the county citizens themselves now represent. It doesn’t matter why you vote for Steve; it’s simply the right thing to do.

Bill Bridwell

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