I make it a policy to never vote for the candidate listed in single candidate races.
I will always write in someone...

Dick Baldwin supervised me as Litigation Director at Multnomah County Legal Aid in 1992. I will tell anybody who asks that he is one of the most honest and humane lawyers/judges I have ever encountered. A real "man of the people." Honest to God, I would vote for Dick for almost anything. If he made it to the court, it would be a credit to the people of Oregon who supported him and a boon to honest justice in an era in the the US Supreme Court has become dominated by fraudulent political hacks. Really, y'all, we have a rare opportunity here to vote for somebody who gives a damn in every way that matters. Let's git 'er done.

Okay, having grandstanded for Dick Baldwin, let me say something about Jim Egan. Jim is an example of perhaps the rarest animal in political life - an honest, humane Republican who believes that people are people and not that corporations are people. Jim's career before ascending to the bench was committed to representing injured workers. As a liberal democrat, I am representative of the overwhelmingly majority of attorneys practicing in this godawful area. But it was Jim, a Republican, whom we supported to carry our banner as President of the Oregon Trial Lawyers Association. For him to stand up for us and our working class clients within the ranks of the modern Republican party was an act of sheer courage. But courage is in no short supply with Jim. To this day he remains active as, I believe, a Colonel in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve and within the last few years saw at least one year of active duty in Iraq. No s**t. Finally, he is one of the friendliest, funniest guys to carry an Oregon State Bar number. To use the vernacular, Jim Egan is one awesome dude. As regular as anybody you might meet at the local tavern until you realize that he is equally willingly to take on Iraqi gunslingers and right wing Republican idiots with equal gusto, all in the name of what he believes is right. Do Oregon a favor and vote Egan. As good as they come.

I was a student under Tim Volpert on the Grant Constitution Team and volunteered as a coach with him after college. He's a good man with good sense. Obviously without knowing me that doesn't mean much, but for what it's worth, just a high quality human being imho.

Not knowing much about each of these people, given the importance of of the position we're electing them to it might be illustrative to know who may be backing some of them.

Tim Volpert is the most highly qualified candidate for the Court of Appeals position, hands down.  He has spent his career as an appellate lawyer, becoming an expert in the legal issues that will face him when he takes the bench.  He has represented individuals, corporations and public bodies in well over a hundred cases in the state and federal appellate courts, including taking a case for an Oregon school district all the way to the US Supreme Court and winning!  His free time has been devoted to becoming an expert on the US Constitution and passing on his knowledge for the past 13 years to the students on the Grant High School Constitution team, creating the kind of informed and active citizens our country needs.  Tim has been endorsed by a broad swath of the legal community because they recognize that he is the best person for the job. 

But who are the unions endorsing?

The perception is that no one will run against a sitting judge for fear of losing and then ending up pleading a case before that judge.

Hi Jack,
Tim Volpert is one of my partners at Davis Wright Tremaine. I have known him since 1979 when we were trial practice partners at Willamette Law School. He sucessfully argued for the right of school districts to conduct drug tests before the United States Supreme Court. He would, in my view, make an excellent jurist. He is patient, has a fine temperment and a keen analytical mind. He certainly has my vote.

A reader writes:

I practice almost exclusively appellate law, and have represented about 450 clients before the Oregon Court of Appeals and Oregon Supreme Court. I'm voting for Judge Sercombe. I've been incredibly impressed by him as a Court of Appeals judge. He's very thoughtful, deliberative, and neutral. He gives me exactly what I want from a judge, his undivided, unbiased attention for my allotment of time. He's always prepared, always completely read the briefing, and oftentimes has read materials beyond what the parties submitted. I walk away from him feeling that, win or lose, I got a fair shot, and his result will be logical, grounded in precedent, and fair. You simply can't want more.

Hi Jack,
Tim Volpert is one of my partners at Davis Wright Tremaine. I have known him since 1979 when we were trial practice partners at Willamette Law School. He sucessfully argued for the right of school districts to conduct drug tests before the United States Supreme Court. He would, in my view, make an excellent jurist. He is patient, has a fine temperment and a keen analytical mind. He certainly has my vote.
======
That he could get up and argue that school districts should be able to impose drug testing on children who are suspected of NOTHING is disqualifying.

The Vernonia decision is a true stain on our state, and a key benchmark for what a cowardly, self-oppressing people we've become, thanks to rule by such keen analytical minds, the kind that make you remember the old line about "Never forget that everything Hitler did was legal."

Tim is by far the best candidate for Oregon Court of Appeals. His endorsements speak for themselves. He is endorsed by:

Congressman Earl Blumenauer
Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici
Former State Senator Neil Bryant
Rev. John Dennis
State Rep. Lew Frederick
Former Oregon Supreme Court Justice Michael Gillette,
Governor Barbara Roberts
District Attorney MIchael Schrunk
Oregon Education Association
George Puentes
Jim Zupancic

The list goes on, but I think it is clear who Oregon is supporting.

He is endorsed by:

Congressman Earl Blumenauer
Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici

Ha! Ha! Andrea, you crack me up!

"That he could get up and argue that school districts should be able to impose drug testing on children who are suspected of NOTHING is disqualifying."

Yeah! -- I'd rather have judges on the court who can't separate their job functions from politics. It works so well on the US Supreme Court.

I would think respect for the Fourth Amendment and the ability to withstand mob hysteria over fictional threats is a serious job function for a judge.

We've seen how well it works when we let these fascist clowns pretend to be just neutral referees with Roberts, Alito, Scalia, and Thomas. It's no surprise that every one of them is fine with strip searches for litterers, the so called "conservatives" are nothing but toadies to power who think we have entirely too much freedom and need a good whipping from the police state because, after all, we must be guilty or we wouldn't be under suspicion.

Succombing to "mob hysteria" has never been an issue with Oregon's supreme court when it comes to interpreting Article 1, Section 9 of the Oregon Constitution(our equivalent of the 4th Fourth Amendment). Our Supreme Court routinely issues rulings in criminal law that are far more restrictive to law enforcement than their federal counterparts. This is a fact. This is not limited to search and seizure, but many other areas of criminal law as well. I would only hope the next justice has some level of experience in criminal law. Criminal cases dominate appellate dockets. Both defense attorneys and prosecutors will tell you that you can't truly learn criminal law from the bench.