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Dear Editor,
On February 21st there will be a primary election for the open seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court. While there will be four candidates on the primary ballot, it should be an easy choice because Circuit Court Judge Janet Protasiewicz is by far the most qualified. Additionally, her tempered judicial philosophy of fairness is far more in keeping with the views of most area residents than the extreme partisan agendas of her opponents.
Judge Janet is endorsed by over 118 Wisconsin judges, far more than her 3 opponents combined. And for good reason. She's the best choice. Unlike 2 of her opponents, she's a life-long Wisconsin resident and attended a Wisconsin law school. She has 35 years of legal experience, the most of the four. She has been a Circuit Court judge for almost a decade following 26 years as an assistant district attorney. She also teaches law school and serves on multiple community organizations focused on helping children and families in need.
Her opponents are not well qualified. Her 2 conservative opponents-Dan Kelly and Jennifer Dorrow--both attended a tiny outof- state school founded and run by the Pat Robertson Christian Broadcasting Network devoted to twisting the law to promote evangelical extremism. It wasn't even an accredited school when they entered and was widely viewed by the mainstream legal community as one of the worst law schools in the country. Not the sort of place one would expect a Supreme Court candidate to come from. They were plucked out of legal obscurity because they were pals of former GOP governor Scott Walker who appointed them to the bench.
Judge Janet's opponent from Madison-Everett Mitchell-is less qualified in a different way. He has only actively practiced law about 8 years (which doesn't even satisfy the minimum requirements for seeking to be an appellate judge in some states) and has a narrow scope of Madison-only legal experience.
Finally, Judge Janet's views are far more in keeping with those of most residents. She is not an election denier like Kelly and Dorow, and opposes their support for voter suppression, elimination of environmental protections and enforcement of the pre-civil war law that would make it a crime for for a woman to seek an abortion under any circumstances, even if the pregnancy was caused by rape or incest or when needed to save the life of the pregnant woman. Judge Janet also supports fair district maps, not the partisan gerrymandering supported by Kelly and Dorow.
I hope you will vote for the best candidate on February 21st-Judge Janet Protasiewicz.
Mike and Susan Van Sicklen,
Town of Dodgeville