Two statements Thursday evening convinced me I should vote “no” in the Aug. 4 primary election on whether Kansas should change its Constitution on how the seven seats on the Kansas Supreme Court are decided.
“If I had to campaign for office, nobody like me would be elected,” said retired Justice John Lee.
Johnson describes himself as “a nobody.”
No money, no political ties, no connections — all necessary steps on the ladder to ascend into politics. Nothing new about that, except in today’s world it’s amplified to untold extremes.
IF A GENERAL election between political candidates were to determine who sits on the state’s high court, as proposed in the Aug. 4 measure, those from our metropolitan areas would likely dominate the bench, opined retired Justice Carol Beier.
“I predict seven justices from Johnson County,” she said.
It’s a seven-member bench.
BEIER AND JOHNSON addressed an audience of about 40 in the Creitz Recital Hall about the upcoming ballot measure which would eliminate the current nonpartisan merit system and make it a political race.
They spoke from experience. And hope.
Not all were convinced.
“It’s the way of the world,” a member of the audience said. “Just look at the U.S. Supreme Court.”
Beier conceded its partisan nature, but added, “look at how they are appointed,” meaning U.S. Senators and ultimately the sitting president.
THAT’S NOT how Kansas does it.
For more than 50 years, Kansas has relied on a candidate’s merit to make it through a grueling vetting process, including a background check by the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, and the ultimate decision by the current governor.
“Gov. Graves told me it’s the worst and best process. The best because he knows whoever he chooses, he’ll get a stellar justice. And the worst because he has to turn down two other stellar candidates,” said Johnson.
A candidate’s application and interview with the nominating commission are made public. That nine-member commission consists of four non-lawyers and four attorneys representing the state’s four Congressional districts and a chairman. The chair is determined through a statewide election by members of the Kansas bar.
