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Alabama Supreme Court Race Among Most Expensive
In its final reporting on campaign expenditures, Alabama remained among the ranks of the nation’s most expensive states for state Supreme Court elections, with an estimated $5.3 million spent by the official campaigns and outside groups.
According to an article in The Birmingham News, candidates Deborah Bell Paseur and newly elected Greg Shaw spent a total of $4.3 million in a closely contested election. In addition, third-party groups spent an estimated $1 million on TV ads favoring Shaw or attacking Paseur.
About two-thirds of Paseur’s $2.5 million campaign fund came from the state Democratic Party executive committee, which included contributions from plaintiffs’ lawyers and the state teachers’ union. Shaw, a Republican, received most of his $1.8 million from pro-business political action committees.
In addition, the Virginia-based Center for Individual Freedom ran over 2,400 TV ads, worth an estimated $850,000, in a third-party campaign supporting Shaw.
The $4.3 million spent by the official campaigns was the most in 2008. But the combined total including independent groups was less than the estimated $6 million spent in Wisconsin last spring, the Associated Press reported.
According to a report posted last summer in Gavel Grab, outside groups spent an estimated $4.8 million in Wisconsin, overshadowing the $1.2 million spent by candidates Louis Butler and Michael Gableman.
No commentsSpending Limits Sought in Alabama
An Alabama legislator is seeking to curtail spending in state judicial elections, according to a Tuscaloosa News report.
Alabama has a tradition of massive amounts being spent on judicial elections. This year, about $4 million was spent by Supreme Court candidate Deborah Bell Paseur and eventual winner Greg Shaw.
The bill, introduced by State Rep. Chris England (D-Tuscaloosa), would limit contributions from individuals and political action committees to $500 per candidate. When England introduced a similar bill in the last legislative session, he said, “The perception is that money buys justice.”
Alabama Bar President J. Mark White endorsed the bill’s intent, saying, “I think what you’re seeing is a growing reaction to the ridiculous amount of money spent on races in this state, and growing reaction to the negative campaigns.”
White also has filed a complaint about phone calls made by an out-of-state group that wrongly claimed the state bar had given Paseur a failing grade. According to the Montgomery Advertiser, Attorney General Troy King has decided to further investigate White’s charges.
2 commentsAlabama Race Ends Amid Calls for Reform
It took ten days before Judge Deborah Bell Paseur finally conceded last Friday to Judge Greg Shaw, ending an Alabama Supreme Court race whose tone and “obscene” cost sparked complaints from state newspapers and the president of the American Bar Association.
The candidates raised a total of $3.8 million, according to their last pre-election filings, the costliest race in the United States this year. In addition, the Virginia-based Center for Individual Freedom spent $965,000 on an independent TV ad campaign, according to data from the Brennan Center for Justice.
In addition, various ads and campaign tactics had both candidates, and the Alabama State Bar Association, fuming.
Paseur, making an issue of business PAC money that funded a large chunk of Shaw’s campaign, ran an ad saying she had never taken a cent of oil-industry money and added, “Deborah Can’t Be Bought.” The ad enraged Shaw, who said his integrity was being challenged.
On the other side, an out-of-state interest group made “push poll” calls stating that Paseur had received a grade of “F” from the Alabama State Bar. The Bar denounced those calls, calling them Read more
1 commentJAS Press Release–Judicial Elections & Selection, 2008
2008 Supreme Court Elections:Â More Money, More Nastiness
But Voters in Referenda Move to Keep Election Politics Out of Their Courtrooms;
Justice O’Connor Calls for State Reforms
State elections for Supreme Court justices ended 2008 much as they began, punctuated by runaway spending, partisan pressure, angry accusations and costly, secretly-funded ads by third-party special interests that often drowned out the candidates.Â
In the final week before the race, almost $5 million was spent on television advertising nationally. Even though several Supreme Court races were uncontested, more money was spent on advertising than in 2006, according to data compiled by the Brennan Center for Justice.
Reform initiatives like voter education, public financing, and conduct committees helped curb the spiral of nasty politics in some states.  And in two heartland counties, in
West Va.: Another Candidate ‘Can’t Be Bought’
In a sign of the times, a candidate for West Virginia Supreme Court is the second candidate nationally in recent weeks to make the televised claim that he “can’t be bought.”
Menis Ketchum, one of three candidates seeking two seats, made the claim during a recently aired bio ad (click here, and scroll to the Oct. 16 ad). Deborah Bell Paseur, running for an open Supreme Court seat in Alabama, made an identical claim in an earlier ad. As noted in Gavel Grab, that 30-second spot enraged opponent Greg Shaw, who said his integrity was being impugned.
By contrast, the West Virginia campaign is ending on a relatively civil note. Ketchum and fellow candidates Margaret Workman and Beth Walker met in a candidates forum this week that was described in a news report as somewhat low-key.
The two “can’t be bought” ads are part of an election season that has focused explicitly in many states on the perceived influence on judges of large campaign contributions.
No commentsWest Va.: Another Candidate 'Can't Be Bought'
In a sign of the times, a candidate for West Virginia Supreme Court is the second candidate nationally in recent weeks to make the televised claim that he “can’t be bought.”
Menis Ketchum, one of three candidates seeking two seats, made the claim during a recently aired bio ad (click here, and scroll to the Oct. 16 ad). Deborah Bell Paseur, running for an open Supreme Court seat in Alabama, made an identical claim in an earlier ad. As noted in Gavel Grab, that 30-second spot enraged opponent Greg Shaw, who said his integrity was being impugned.
By contrast, the West Virginia campaign is ending on a relatively civil note. Ketchum and fellow candidates Margaret Workman and Beth Walker met in a candidates forum this week that was described in a news report as somewhat low-key.
The two “can’t be bought” ads are part of an election season that has focused explicitly in many states on the perceived influence on judges of large campaign contributions.
No commentsSpending Rages in Alabama
In this new report from the Birmingham News, Alabama Supreme Court candidates Greg Shaw and Deborah Bell Paseur have spent $2.8 million in the past six weeks, raising their combined expenditures for the campaign to $3.8 million.
Estimating that the Center for Individual Freedom has spent $1.3 million on independent pro-Shaw ads, the article said total spending on the Alabama race has now topped $5.1 million.
Additional details on Alabama spending are available in this Associated Press report.
No commentsArticle Details Nasty Alabama Race
The race to replace Alabama Supreme Court Justice Harold See has escalated from a cold war to an all-out slug fest.
The campaign between Republican Greg Shaw and Democrat Deborah Bell Paseur is aiming to be one of the nastiest in the state’s history, according to a Birmingham News article. Both sides have slung negative ads towards each other, with claims ranging from oil company backing to outright hypocrisy.
Justice At Stake’s Charlie Hall was quoted in the article, saying “At first it was like one of those Westerns where the people are saying `Things are too quiet around here.’ Then the guns started blazing.”
Both campaigns claim that they are the victim of smear campaigns and disingenuous push polls by unknown third parties. Needless to say, this is shaping up to be one of the hottest judicial races of the cycle.
For other Gavel Grab postings on Alabama, click here.
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