There’ve been a few complaints of late that there hasn’t been a lot of Wabash County news in the paper.
Those complaints have merit. There HASN’T been a lot of Wabash County news, coming out of Wabash County to begin with. We can’t report what’s not there.
So what’s the problem? Has crime dried up? Are the dopers seeing the errors of their ways? Is there some kind of magical effect this time of year has on child molesters and wife-beaters?
No. It’s just election season. And when your county prosecutor wants to be a judge, there are just some things that have to take a back seat. Charging crimes is one of those things, apparently. And unless it’s really serious, or can be a headline-grabber, it’s just not happening.
Who’s going to win the judicial race in Wabash County, the seat on the bench Judge Stephen Sawyer, former chief judge of the Second Judicial Circuit, is giving up for retirement? Two candidates have emerged to vie for this very coveted position…but are either of them qualified? A judicial seat is a very serious responsibility; and people are accustomed to those judges just sitting there until they retire instead of overturning them every six years with a ‘no’ vote for judicial retention…so it’s a lengthy responsibility as well. Voters need to make an informed decision. That’s why we’re bringing the big back-page article to you today for your noontime Read the Lead, Wabash County judicial seat offers opportunity for young lawyers, which also features the sheriff’s race in that county as well:
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WABASH CO.—‘Uncertainty’ is the key word going on in Wabash County right now when it comes to two major offices, and political posturing was what got both of them there to begin with.
The judicial vacancy created by the retirement of resident judge Steve Sawyer, and the upset that occurred for beleaguered sheriff Joe Keeling back in the March Primary, have both created such a condition of insecurity in the political field in Wabash that voters are feeling somewhat propelled along instead of guided by common sense and frank information.
Keeling was defeated in the Primary by one of his own deputies running against him on the Republican ticket, Derek Morgan.
The perpetual Democrat candidate, D-Ray Etzkorn, was of course on that party’s ballot and so has come to be the one facing Morgan November 4.
Rumor had it that there was a deal struck back in the spring between the ruling political elite of Wabash (particularly in Mt. Carmel) whereby Morgan would drop out before the race and allow Etzkorn to run unopposed, ensuring that finally, a Democrat would be in the sheriff’s office once again after the 2002 retirement of decades-long sheriff Randy Grounds of Allendale.
However, Morgan’s still in the running…although anything can happen prior to the 4th.
Hudson
What’s a little less tricky and only marginally more reassuring, however, is the selection for judge to replace Sawyer.
It’s only marginally more reassuring by virtue of the fact that young Will Hudson (son of Mt. Carmel mayor Bill Hudson) seems to have the support of many of the tried-and-true prosecutors in the area, namely, Mike Valentine in neighboring Edwards County to the west, and Chris Quick of neighboring Lawrence County to the north.
Despite Hudson’s representation of reviled ISP investigator Rick White in a Richland County OP case last year, he seems to be a capable young attorney with….
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