Chandler's Justice of the Peace race is cause for chagrin

I've been following our Justice of the Peace race for months now and just have to say: I find it incredibly sad. Chandler's San Marcos Court has three folks running for the race, Ron Johnson (R), Mike Hampshire (R) and LC Norman (Libertarian). No Independents or Democrats are in the race and it's a real shame, because the three current candidates are just pathetic.

For more info on the high-pay, high power, no-training-required JP job and where Chandler's race stands, check out this excellent article by Edythe Jensen in the AZ Republic:

They hold one of the state's highest-paid elected offices and make decisions that affect lives and bank accounts.

But Maricopa County justices of the peace don't need any legal training to run. They just have to be at least 18, able to read and write English and win a partisan election. The next one is Sept. 12.

...The state Commission on Judicial Conduct has found some justices' behavior so outrageous that it has removed seven from office since 1998, said Linda Haynes, commission spokesman. She said the agency received 87 complaints about justices last year, but only those that result in disciplinary actions are made public.

...In Chandler's San Marcos Justice Court, incumbent Ron Johnson, who has been accused of ethical violations, agreed not to seek re-election as part of a settlement with the Commission on Judicial Conduct. His predecessor, J. Brian Lamb, was forced out when he was sentenced to federal prison for insurance fraud in 2000.

Now three political newcomers with no legal training are vying for the job. One, Republican Mike Hampshire, is a former commercial airline pilot who lost his pilot certification in 1999 after he fainted at the wheel of an automobile and had an accident. He said he didn't know anything about the job until five months ago when he found out there was an opening in Chandler and decided to run.

Another, Libertarian Laurence "LC" Norman, is a small-business owner who admits getting caught up in a questionable tax shelter investment about 20 years ago and filed for bankruptcy protection to get the Internal Revenue Service off his back.

"Sometimes what's legal isn't ethical and what's ethical isn't legal," he said. A justice "should come out with the best decision possible and let the cards fall."

The third, Republican Keith Frankel, is a behavioral health consultant who, when asked whether he was ever a defendant in a civil lawsuit, became confused about the difference between a plaintiff and a defendant.

This is the best Chandler can do to fill our $95k/year Justice of the Peace office? Really?

It's frustrating enough to make one run for office, oneself. In fact, if this is the poor quality of candidates being fielded for such an important public servant role, then one almost has a moral obligation to be willing to stand for election against them.

It simply amazes me that well trained, highly qualified and motivated public servants aren't running for this office! I appreciate that being a JP is a difficult job, and that may be what scares the better candidates out of the race. But just read through the rest of that article. It's downright aggravating that corruption, incompetence and ignorance are so rife in some of these JPs and candidates.

As readers will know, justice, and the Law, have long been topics of intense interest of mine. I'm something of a law hound, to be honest, even though I've never had formal training. Frankly, I think I probably could do the JP job better than any of the three candidates on the ballot. It sickens me to think that such an important judicial office in our town will fall to the lesser of three grossly incompetent candidates.

Isn't there anyone else out there in Chandler, Arizona that can save us from this? Please?