Litigation

MN Tea Party Leaders Oppose An Election Reform

By Peter Hardin

A proposal to shield Minnesota judges from the influence of big-money politics in elections has drawn opposition from leaders of a group called the Minnesota Tea Party Patriots.

A bipartisan group of reformers is supporting a proposed  constitutional amendment to replace partisan elections with up-or-down retention elections and to set up a non-partisan commission to evaluate judges near the ends of their terms.

Tea party organizer Tony Backdahl contended that if contested elections were eliminated, citizens would be left out, according to a Minnesota Public Radio report.

“We keep giving all of our power, the people’s power, over to a select group — who, by the way doesn’t always appear to be non-biased — and then we end up giving away our liberties,” Backdahl said.

Former Senate Majority Leader Roger Moe, a leading supporter of the reform amendment, said it is intended “to keep partisan politics, special interest money and special interests out of the election of judges,” according to a St. Paul Pioneer Press article. You can learn more about the ongoing debate from Justice at Stake’s Minnesota news page.

Full post as published by The Gavel on March 19, 2010 (boomark / email).