After spending millions of dollars in campaign contributions on mailers and ads, including attack ads, three candidates will be elected to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court tomorrow. The election may determine whether the Court will uphold partisan gerrymandering of legislative districts, which has resulted in Republican victories both at the federal and state level.
Now let me explain what is wrong with that first paragraph, and why Pennsylvania continues to be an embarrassment to anyone who believes in clean politics and an independent judiciary.
First, we shouldn’t even have partisan elections to the State Supreme Court. Few states operate this way. Most states select judges on a merit system.
Second, the present system of campaign finance in Pennsylvania is abysmal. While every candidate will deny with a straight face that contributions influence elections, ask yourself why the contributors are giving the candidates money. Are they doing this to ensure excellence in the courts?
Third, if the state had reasonable redistricting policies, gerrymandering would not occur. A number of other states have adopted non-partisan redistricting, but we have representatives like Jerry Knowles and Doyle Heffley who would never support a fair system.
So tomorrow, I will go in and vote for all the Democratic candidates for judicial office. From an objective standpoint, they are actually the best qualified of the candidates running. Unfortunately, this is an off-year election and Democrats tend to vote in smaller numbers than Republicans.
It’s been said that we get the government we deserve. I don’t believe that. I don’t believe I have ever done anything to deserve the system of government I am getting in this state.
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