LETTER: O-R had it right
O-R had it right
Of course, Peters Township Councilman and chairman of the Republican Party Dave Ball supports regional election of judges (“Regional Vote for Judges a Great Idea,” Jan. 27)!
The Republican Party is not happy with a state Supreme Court that is dominated 5-2 by Democrats. It seeks decisions that will be more to its liking, so it seeks to change the longstanding election of judges by statewide vote. Consequently, it is proposing a constitutional amendment to change the manner in which we elect judges, attempting to sell the notion that the law will be interpreted more accurately through a system of regional judges, thereby mandating the election of jurists from rural countries where Republicans dominate. Attempting to dupe the public into falling for this scheme would enable the judicial votes of Pennsylvanians to be nullified.
I suspect that we shall not ever hear a complaint from Mr. Ball about a United States Supreme Court with a 6-3 conservative majority or about the gerrymandering that has enabled the Republican minority in the commonwealth to control the Pennsylvania State Senate and House.
The proposal for this ill-advised constitutional amendment is the work of one of the general assembly’s worst: the undignified, unworthy Republican state Rep. Russ Diamond of Lebanon County, who is well-known for having boasted of flouting coronavirus protocols and for actively promoting the lie that Donald Trump won the Nov. 3 election.
The Observer-Reporter{/em} had it absolutely right in its Jan. 24 editorial, and it is joined by other state newspapers in its informed view: regional election of judges is a bad idea that will add to the partisan manipulation of our courts. The citizenry must pay attention and not allow itself to be duped.
Oren Spiegler
Peters Township{&end}