None of the Supreme Court candidates face an opponent…so you either vote for the incumbent, vote for “None of the Above” or leave that race blank. I don’t have a strong sense or opinion on any of these races. All incumbents will be retained, so I haven’t spent any time looking into them.
As for the other judicial races on the Clark County ballot, I am NOT an expert. So what I did was reach out to six attorneys I know who are solid libertarian-conservatives to get their opinions on these races.
Now, bear in mind, these folks are NOT rating these judicial candidates just on party registration or even political philosophy, but competence, as well. Remember, Elizabeth Halvorson was a Republican!
So here are my semi-informed picks based on the recommendations of conservatives involved in the system on a day-to-day basis whose opinions I trust:
District Judge, Department 4: Kerry Early
District Judge, Department 5: Carolyn Ellsworth
District Judge, Department 14: Adriana Escobar
District Judge, Department 20, Jerry Tao
Yes, I know Tao used to work for Harry Reid…and believe me, that gave me pause. But NO ONE I’ve spoken with about Judge Tao has had a bad thing to say about the guy. Seriously, the impression I get is not to be surprised if he changes water into wine right up there on the bench before your very eyes!
Justice of the Peace, Las Vegas, Department 1: Deborah Lippis
Justice of the Peace, Las Vegas, Department 5: Bill Jansen
Justice of the Peace, Las Vegas, Department 8: Amy Chellini
Justice of the Peace, North Las Vegas: Kalani Hoo
Justice of the Peace, Moapa: Tony Terry
Justice of the Peace, Mesquite: Ryan Toon
Justice of the Peace, Laughlin: Tim Atkins
