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For Supreme Court: Incumbents advance with two challengers
Justice Gildea's challengers questioned her right to be labeled "incumbent" on the ballot.
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Two Supreme Court justices easily advanced to November runoffs in their election bids Tuesday, the third for Justice Paul H. Anderson and the first for Justice Lorie Skjerven Gildea.
Into the fall campaign, Anderson said he will "continue the themes I've always done, which is to keep partisanship out of judicial elections ... and to focus on the court continuing to build trust and confidence."
Anderson and Gildea held large margins over their nearest opponents late Tuesday.
The two top vote recipients in both nonpartisan races will face-off in November.
Tim Tingelstad, of Bemidji, also advanced in the race for the seat held by Anderson, besting Alan Lawrence Nelson, of Maplewood. Tingelstad challenged and lost to Justice Alan Page four years ago.
Gildea said she will be making more parade appearances starting Sept. 20 in New Prague. "We Minnesotans know that when we have something that works, you keep it," Gildea said. "I work very well on the Minnesota Supreme Court and the people want to keep me there."
Also running for the seat held by Gildea were lawyer Jill Clark, assistant state public defender F. Richard Gallo Jr. and Hennepin County District Court Judge Deborah Hedlund. Hedlund and Clark were locked in a tight match separated by only a couple of percentage points.
If she advances, Hedlund said the race will provide a forum for a discussion about whether jurists should be appointed by the governor or elected and whether trial experience matters.
Judicial races aren't as high profile as many others, but the candidates' websites tell much about them.
The loquacious and gregarious Anderson mentions on his site how he "has reached out to communities all across our state, explaining our court system, inspiring public service, and promoting public confidence in our judicial system."
Nelson touts his St. Paul roots as well as a dual career in computer science and a private legal practice focused on estate planning, real estate, business contracts, and copyright law.
Tingelstad has a "prayer clock" on his Web pages, which are laced with numerous Bible quotes and religious references. He is a magistrate in the 9th Judicial District and a former assistant Beltrami County attorney.
Gildea, who was on the Hennepin County bench less than three months before she was elevated by Pawlenty to the high court in January 2006, faces her first electoral test. Her challengers have questioned her experience.
Clark challenged not only Gildea but the process.
Clark is appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court in her attempt to have Gildea removed from the ballot, after a panel of retired state judges denied Clark's petition to have Gildea disqualified from the election or listed without the "incumbent" label. Clark argues that Gildea was illegally appointed and that designating her as an incumbent would give her an unfair electoral advantage.
Staff writer Randy Furst contributed to this report. Rochelle Olson • 612-673-1747
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