Charles Kochlacs and Laura Cromwell: Candidates for Judge.

Kochlacs won the preference poll of local lawyers, 109 to 39.

Does it mean who is better? Or who is better known?

We elect our judges in Oregon. Down at the end of the ballot there are the names of people most voters have barely heard of. Lots of voters skip this section. A few voters mark a ballot, mostly in ignorance.

The Voters Pamphlet is only a little help, because under the rules of judicial campaigning,  they are allowed to campaign only on their background and experience and on general issues of law and justice, so everyone sounds competent and reasonable.

Charles Kochlacs

Two candidates will be on the ballot for position 4, Charles Kochlacs and Laura Cromwell. On election day a great many voters will know two things. One is that Cromwell is the incumbent, because the ballot will be marked "Incumbent." They will know she is a woman, cued by her first name, and that Kochlacs is male, cued by his first name.

A judicial vacancy was created by the retirement of Judge Pat Crain. Governor Kate Brown needed to appoint someone to fill the vacancy temporarily, for the short interim before this election. She looked at both Charles Kochlacs and Laura Cromwell, and chose Cromwell.

Some people will think her appointment by the governor gives her a leg up. She was picked. She is the incumbent. But people inclined to disagree with Brown's judgement in general may vote against Cromwell for that same reason. One knowledgeable local attorney close to this process told me "not to overthink this" saying "both candidates were just fine, and Brown picked the woman."

Laura Cromwell

To help guide voters, the Oregon State Bar Association organizes a Preference Poll of lawyers in the jurisdiction of the candidates. Charles Kochlacs won handily among the 40% of lawyers who participated. He said he thought it was significant that he won the preference poll even though he was not the incumbent, meaning attorneys were open to a change. "I'm very flattered."

He said, "I think it's clear that I was the better choice. The local bar [i.e.lawyers] appreciates that I come from a civil background and have the most experience and a great temperament." Having an extensive civil law, rather than criminal law, background was important and valuable qualification, Kochlacs said. "I have domestic relations, juvenile, and criminal law experience. Those are the areas I think the court needs help the most." 

"The court is stacked by people who come onto the bench with primarily criminal law backgrounds. I think it's important to have a diversity of practice areas."

Laura Cromwell acknowledged Kochlacs' having done civil law gave him an advantage, but in his ability to win a preference poll, not in being better qualified for the job of judge. "Unfortunately, I think it's fairly standard for prosecutors (and often times criminal defense attorneys as well) to lose the judicial bar polls. It doesn't come as a big surprise to me." She noted that "civil attorneys far out-number our criminal bar, and we're obviously known more by our criminal folks because that's who we're dealing with on a daily basis."

In the DA's office Cromwell developed a reputation for being well informed and adept at handling cases involving arrests of people with mental health and addiction issues, a primary cause of people entering the criminal justice system. Even attorneys who plan to support Kochlacs have acknowledged this point.

Cromwell affirmed to me the good-government, justice-for-all sentiments that characterize all campaign talk by every judicial candidate. "I was appointed to the bench to serve all the citizens of Jackson County, including those 330+ active members of the bar. I look forward to impartially applying the law, holding offenders accountable, and helping to fight the very serious addiction and mental health issues that are affecting our community."

Kochlacs' campaign web page strikes the same tone: "Charles has exceptional understanding of the challenges and nuances of the region. . . .Charles will bring insight, compassion, and experience to the bench."

Everyone expects to be fair, reasonable, intelligent, compassionate, and an excellent judge.

Cromwell's dog

I asked Kochlacs if he "campaigned" to win the bar poll. He said he sent a link to his Facebook page and campaign website to every member of the local bar. "I'm a Facebook novice," he said, only having an active Facebook page for a short while. 

Cromwell began campaigning two weeks ahead of Kochlacs. Each have the expected elements of a popularity contest, each hitting the expected political cliches on Facebook and in campaign websites.

Laura Cromwell's Facebook page starts on August 22:
   ***photo of her being on TV.   
   ***photo of her dog.
   ***photo of her wearing glasses and not wearing glasses.
   ***photo of her in front of non-profit programs, saying they are great.
   ***photo of her with "Cromwell" lawn signs and campaign material.

Kochlacs' Facebook campaigning starts on September 5:
   ***photo of him with his family.

Kochlacs' dog

   ***photo of him with his dog.
   ***photo of him with a suit jacket slung over his shoulder.
   ***photo of him in front of non-profit programs saying they are great.
   ***photo of him with "Kochlacs" lawn signs and campaign material.
  
Charles Kochlacs won the bar poll. It means something. It means that the lawyers who interacted with him in his diverse practice liked him enough to mark his name. If they didn't respect him they would not have done so. Quality judges matter to attorneys.  His web page shows endorsements from retired judges Pat Crain and Mitchell Karaman, and sitting judges Lorenzo Mejia, and business owners Jerry Evans and Bill Thorndike, Jr. People I have talked with speak highly of him.

Laura Cromwell was looked at closely by the Governor, who spoke personally with members of the local legal community to get their recommendations, and then, having heard from them and considered Kochlacs, chose Cromwell instead. So did some members of the local bar, perhaps in general proportion to the people who have had interaction with her in her work as an assistant District Attorney, a narrower practice area. Her web page shows endorsements from Judges Lisa Greif, Timothy Barnack, Benjamin Bloom, and David Hoppe. People I have talked with speak highly of her.

The most important takeaway I have is that people who have seen their work speak highly of them both.