In the first round of judicial endorsements, Democratic candidates did very well, getting the nod from the Chron in five of six races. In their first review of civil court races, it was the reverse as the Chron stayed with four of the five Republican incumbents. The one exception:
Steven Kirkland
113th Civil District Court: Steve Kirkland
Every two years, Harris County voters go to the polls to decide who will serve on Texas’ judiciary – a job whose highest purpose is to ensure that justice is done. In this year’s election, voters can stand side-by-side with judges in that search for justice by putting Steve Kirkland back on the bench.
In a miscarriage of democracy, Kirkland lost in the 2012 Democratic Party primary to an under-qualified opponent whose campaign was almost exclusively funded by a local attorney who had lost a case in Kirkland’s court. Our courts do not belong to the highest bidder, and it falls on voters to make things right.
A graduate of the University of Houston Law Center, Kirkland has served four years as a civil court judge and eight years as a municipal judge, where he helped create Houston’s Homeless Recovery Court.
In this race, Kirkland faces Michael Landrum, who was appointed to the 113th Civil District Court by Gov. Rick Perry in May 2013. Landrum has an impressive record and would certainly be a fine judge, but this race is about more than two men running for the same position. It is about the voters of Harris County proving that attempts to manipulate our courts will always end in futility. Re-elect Kirkland.
In each of the other races, the Chron was complimentary towards the Democratic challenger, but thought the Republican incumbent was good enough to merit re-election. We’ll see how it goes with the second batch. My Q&A with Kirkland from the primary is here. I’ve got a Q&A with Farrah Martinez in the 190th Civil Court here, and I’ve got a Q&A with Kay Morgan in the 55th Civil Court in the queue for later. What are your thoughts on these endorsements?