Censured judge fights to keep seat

Embattled Judge Timothy Blakely has gone on the attack in an attempt to keep his seat in a contentious race with challenger Larry Clark, a longtime Dakota County prosecutor. But support for the censured judge is hard to find.

Many in the south-metro legal community describe Blakely, who as a trial court judge for the First Judicial District serves Goodhue, Dakota, Scott, Carver, Le Sueur, Sibley and McLeod counties, as a mercurial man who not only was suspended by the state Supreme Court over an ethics breach, but was removed from so many cases in Goodhue County that he became ineffective there.

He hasn't been in his Red Wing chambers for over a year and for several years only there infrequently, despite being elected to a Goodhue County-based seat.

Blakely of Eagan has no endorsements, and a poll of some Dakota County lawyers on Friday indicated overwhelming peer support for Clark, who has endorsements from area county attorneys and retired sheriffs. Blakely explained that by saying he accepts no endorsements of any kind.

On Friday, a poll of 168 Dakota County attorneys by the local bar association found that of 98 returned ballots, seven voted for Blakely and 85 for Clark. Six were disqualified.

Blakely contends the plebiscite had "irregularities" and noted that 45 percent of the 168 ballots sent out weren't returned or were disqualified.

He also refused to participate in a Dakota County Bar judicial forum on Sept. 15, saying Clark supporters helped to arrange it. Clark said the bar properly formulated the forum and Blakely would have been given ample opportunity to respond to written questions.

That compelled Clark, a prosecutor who lives in Red Wing, to run. "What he did was really a slap in the face to the citizens of this county."

He said Blakely ordered residents of communities, including Red Wing, Zumbrota and Cannon Falls, to see the St. Paul attorney, inconveniencing them and perhaps forcing them to pay more than local attorneys charge, "so he could get a discount." Said Clark: "That's unconscionable."

Many attorneys said they did not want to publicly criticize Blakely, saying that if he wins, they may have to bring cases before him. Karissa Richardson, president of the Dakota County Bar Association, said that leaves attorneys in an "awkward" position. But she said members of the bar were surprised that he would not speak at their forum.

Some thought Blakely should have been disbarred for the ethics violation, said Paul Rogosheske, a South St. Paul attorney who helped put on a fundraiser for Clark. "It's hard for judges and lawyers to talk against a judge. But in this particular case, that conduct ... is fair game, and it's reasonable to support another fellow running against him."

Blakely, a retired Navy lieutenant, was elected in 1998 to his first term as judge. He campaigned against sitting Goodhue County Judge Peter Hong partly by noting that Hong had been removed from cases. But attorneys say Blakely has had more removals, which they can request for "no cause" before a case begins. A count of his removals was unavailable.