Judge Hughes’ Base Is 50% of District

Supreme Court Race Could Turn On Four Areas With 50% of Vote

by Woody Jenkins, editor

CENTRAL — A classic battle is raging behind the scenes right now for control of our state court system in Louisiana.  You have probably read that Associate Justice Bernette Johnson has been named Chief Justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court.  The Chief Justice has extraordinary power over the administration of the court system.  Chief Justice Johnson is a liberal Democrat, and her elevation to Chief Justice could seriously tilt many aspects of our state court system to the liberal side, especially if she has a liberal majority on the seven-member Supreme Court.  And that is what is at stake for the citizens of Central in the Dec. 8 runoff election.

Here in the Baton Rouge area, we will elect an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, and that member of the court will have the power to tilt the court either to the conservative Republican side or the liberal Democrat side or somewhere in between.

The Republican Party is supporting a conservative Republican judge from Livingston Parish — Court of Appeal Judge Jeff Hughes.  Hughes is a solid conservative, who can be expected to vote with the other three Republican jurists on countless issues.

The Democratic Party is supporting a moderate Democrat from the inner city of Baton Rouge — Judge John Michael Guidry.  Judge Guidry is also a member of the Court of Appeal.

As a member of the Louisiana House and then the Louisiana Senate, Judge Guidry took a liberal stand on a great many important issues.  Since being elected to the Court of Appeal, he has taken a more moderate stand, but he has not had to rule on many of the hot-button issues that define the Supreme Court.

Some in the business community believe that Judge Guidry will be a good vote for business on the court, and they may be right.  But we are concerned about the 90 percent of the issues that do not directly concern business, such as private property, right to life, right to keep and bear arms, and countless others.

We believe that Judge Hughes will be “the real thing” — a solid conservative vote on business issues and on the vast array of other issues that people in Central are concerned about.  We are not as confident about where Judge Guidry would fall on those issues and fear his votes in the legislature were a true reflection of his philosophy.

Early voting begins Saturday.  Please make your voice heard by going to polls and voting early — from Nov. 24 through Dec. 1.