Editorial: Judge Tara Flanagan deserves second…
Editorial: Judge Tara Flanagan deserves second term
Opponent Karen Katz's arguments for replacing the incumbent are unpersuasive.
By East Bay Times editorial board |
PUBLISHED: April 17, 2018 at 6:15 am | UPDATED: May 7, 2018 at 1:08 pm
It's important that voters protect judicial independence. There should be a good reason to unseat an incumbent judge and only if the alternative is clearly superior.
Alameda County Superior Court Judge Tara Flanagan. (Laura A. Oda/Bay Area News Group)
The effort to replace Alameda County Judge Tara Flanagan in the June 5 election fails both tests. When challenger Karen Katz, a retired public defender, tried to make her case to us, her arguments were not only unpersuasive, her demeanor was rambling, antagonistic and nit-picky.
Click here for a complete list of our election recommendations.
In contrast Flanagan, a civil attorney and criminal prosecutor before her election to the bench six years ago, brought wise insight when asked what she had learned during her first term:
Karen Katz (Laura A. Oda/Bay Area News Group)
"Don't underestimate people and the breadth of humanity," she said. "People are human, people make mistakes, but there is good and redemption in every person. And the task is … to try to tease that out."
Wise advice. Flanagan deserves another term, as more than 80 judges endorsing her have also concluded.
To be sure, Flanagan made a serious mistake during her first campaign, in 2012, when she improperly accounted for campaign loans from a supporter. For that, the Fair Political Practices Commission fined her $4,500 and the state Commission on Judicial Performance publicly admonished her. But there was no evidence that she personally profited.
We expect she won't make that accounting mistake again.
Election Recommendations for June 2018
East Bay Times editorial board
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