Coming from Seattle, the Libs are not as crazy here in Milwaukee but they do pull some of the same tricks. Of course in Seattle, no Conservative judge would have gotten voted in at all. Interesting to see politics in a different part of the country after being in Seattle for 24 years.>>>>>>>>>>>>

After bitter race, calls for reform
Election's tone hurt high court's standing, some say
By STEVEN WALTERS, STACY FORSTER and PATRICK MARLEY
swalters@journalsentinel.com
Posted: April 2, 2008

Madison - The bitter race between Louis Butler and Michael Gableman for the state Supreme Court turned what was supposed to be a nonpartisan contest into a partisan battle that former justices and others said tattered the court's reputation. Third-party groups usually aligned with Republican causes and candidates backed Gableman, a Burnett County Circuit judge. And Democratic-leaning groups likewise spent millions on behalf of Butler, the incumbent who lost a close race with Gableman on Tuesday. Together, the groups spent at least $4 million.
95567Election 2008
Butler lost his state Supreme Court seat to Michael Gableman.
Butler's Margin in Milwaukee Not Enough

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Editorial: Nasty Supreme Court races should prompt the Legislature and governor to act.

Vote totals largely mirrored that partisan divide, with Butler getting 35.8% of his votes in two Democratic strongholds - Milwaukee and Dane counties - while Gableman won Waukesha County, a GOP stronghold, and all but a handful of counties in the northern half of the state.

The negative ads run on behalf of both candidates were devastating to the state's judicial system, said former state Supreme Court Justice Janine Geske, now a Marquette University law professor.

"It was disrespectful to the position of a Supreme Court justice," she said. She added that the ads were misleading about the role of justices in the system, and the perception of the court is essential to people respecting the court's opinions.

Said former Justice William Bablitch: "Right now, the impression of the people of the state is justice is for sale and some are going to get a fairer shake than others."

Bablitch backed Butler in the race, but said the court's image would have been just as damaged had Butler won because outside groups degraded both candidates in a slew of TV ads.

Tuesday's election "made a travesty of 'nonpartisan elections,' " said Jay Heck, executive director of Common Cause in Wisconsin. "It's a distinction without a difference. It's Republican vs. Democrat, conservative vs. liberal.

"This was the most nasty, negative, demoralizing statewide election in Wisconsin history. . . . This is about as low as you can go."

The day after his defeat, Butler - like Bablitch and others - called for reforming how Supreme Court justices are selected.

Butler called on Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle, who appointed him to the court in 2004, and legislators to "act now" to enact campaign-finance reforms.

"We cannot continue to see elections like last year and this year and expect people to maintain their faith in the system," Butler said in comments at the Milwaukee County Courthouse. "If we rob them of that faith, we rob them of justice."

Gableman declined to make similar reform calls, saying it would be inappropriate to comment on changes legislators might make to state law.

"As a judicial conservative, I believe that any kind of substantive change or creation of new law should come from the Legislature," he said.

As some clamored for the appointment of justices, Gableman said he saw value in electing them.

"I thought (campaigning) was a good process to go through - to take my case directly to the people," he said.

Gableman won about 51% of the vote to Butler's 49%.

The nearly 819,000 unofficial vote total statewide was about 19% of eligible voters statewide, slightly less than the predicted 20% turnout.

Mike McCabe, executive director of the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, estimated third-party groups spent at least $4 million on TV ads, many of which attacked either Butler or Gableman.

He said his group would likely have better estimates next week on special-interest spending. Candidates' final spending totals won't be reported until July.

"Wisconsin is in the midst of a hostile takeover of its court system," said McCabe. "I think the court is well on its way to special-interest ownership of the courts."
Limited reach

For Butler, who is from Milwaukee, winning only five of the state's largest counties spelled defeat. In the last two contested elections for the court, Annette K. Ziegler, in 2007, and Patience Roggensack, in 2003, won all but one or two of the nine largest counties.

Butler won in Kenosha, Rock and La Crosse counties, but lost four other populous counties - Waukesha, Brown, Racine and Outagamie.

Gableman won 67% of Waukesha County's votes, and won 57 of the state's 72 counties overall.

Butler's biggest margin of victory was in Dane County, where he won by more than 31,000 votes. About two-thirds of that was offset by Gableman's nearly 22,000-vote win in Waukesha County.

Butler won only five counties north of state Highway 10 - a traditional dividing line between northern and southern Wisconsin.

Butler became the first sitting justice to lose a seat on the court since 1967. Doyle appointed Butler to the court to fill a vacancy in 2004, four years after Butler lost 2-to-1 in a race for a seat on the court.

In a statement, Doyle said: "It is a tragedy that such a fine judge and good human being was trashed during the campaign."

In a brief appearance before reporters, Butler said Wednesday that he was proud to have not run any negative ads. He said he had given no thought to what comes next, other than finishing out the term .

Butler cited the ads and the negative environment as factors in the race. He did not address whether voters may have disagreed with his judicial philosophy or preferred the approach of Gableman.

He blamed his loss on an election system corroded by negative TV ads from outside groups and warned that the environment will grow worse unless the Legislature enacts reforms.

The drumbeat for changing the system is already picking up, although it's unlikely efforts will go anywhere this year. State Rep. Fred Kessler (D-Milwaukee) called for a constitutional amendment to establish a system for appointing justices.

But Senate Majority Leader Russ Decker (D-Weston) did not embrace that idea.

"I was with Butler, but just because my guy didn't win doesn't mean we should change the rules," he said.

Decker helped push a public financing system for Supreme Court elections through the state Senate this year, but it died in the Republican-controlled Assembly.

Greg J. Borowski of the Journal Sentinel staff contributed to this report from Milwaukee.