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A Times Editorial
© St. Petersburg Times, published October 17, 2002
Frustrating choices. With candidates feeling constrained by ethics rules about what they may say, many voters often resort to meaningless measures to make their decisions, such as the number of yard signs or the order of names on the ballot. But selecting a judge is too important to leave to such guesswork. However difficult, voters should make an effort to inform themselves and to judge the candidates on the basis of their integrity, life experience, temperament and commitment to community service.
On Nov. 5, voters in Pinellas and Hillsborough will get the opportunity to do just that in circuit court runoffs.
Linda Babb
Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Court judge, Group 26
The runoff for the Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Court seat vacated by the retiring Maynard Swanson offers a clear choice: Linda Babb.
Babb, 46, calls herself a "people person," and that is a good way to describe the veteran prosecutor. Babb overflows with kinetic energy and enthusiasm, qualities she has brought to her work as an assistant state attorney and her extensive volunteerism.
Babb has spent her entire 14-year legal career working as a prosecutor, initially in Pinellas County and since 1994 at the State Attorney's Office in Dade City. Over the years, she has specialized in prosecuting domestic violence, elderly abuse, and gang- and drug-related crimes. Her trial experience is extensive and, having appeared before more than half the judges in the circuit, she claims to know what qualities make a judge respected and valued.
A native of Pinellas County, Babb spends her spare time teaching at St. Leo University and volunteering at her church and local schools. She has taught at the police academies at Pasco Hernando Community College and St. Petersburg College and spent years coordinating the Pasco County Teen Court.
George H. Brown, 44, has been practicing law since 1988. He works for the Clearwater personal injury firm of Abrahamson & Uiterwyk. Before becoming an attorney, Brown spent four years as a police officer in Ocala. Brown's experience with jury trials primarily consists of handling medical, insurance and negligence cases. His nonjury trial work has involved traffic infractions, contract disputes and personal injury cases.
There is no doubt Brown has a sincere desire to be a judge. He has been running a vigorous campaign and successfully beat out family law attorney Sarah Chaves to qualify for a runoff with Babb. Brown is a more sophisticated candidate now than he was in 1998, when he lost a race for Pinellas County Court to Amy Williams. Since then, Brown has burnished his community service credentials by volunteering with Gulfcoast Legal Services and a number of other charitable organizations. We commend him for these extra efforts but, in the final analysis, we believe Babb is the better candidate. Babb offers a real affinity for people, solid legal credentials and background of good works.
The Times recommends Linda Babb.
Martha Cook
Circuit Court judge, Group 30
This runoff is between two lawyers, Martha Cook and Ken Whalen, who are close in age and qualifications. Their similarly impressive resumes make this race a close call.
Cook, 53, is a 25-year lawyer and former litigation partner with Holland & Knight. She has a broad range of experience, having served early on as assistant attorney general and solo practitioner. Over the last nine years, Cook has mediated some 700 cases, from small to multimillion-dollar ones, and arbitrated dozens more. She has represented many abused children in guardianship cases -- including one resulting in an eight-day trial -- and has been an active advocate for the hearing-impaired. Cook gives every impression that she would be a fair but firm judge.
Whalen, 54, is a trial lawyer of 29 years, the last 23 in Tampa. With years representing insurance companies, Whalen now mainly handles cases for injured railroad workers, and his work often brings him into the courtroom. He has also mediated dozens of cases and, as a young lawyer in Pennsylvania, served in an arbitration division of the court. Whalen has held leadership positions in many civic and neighborhood associations, and has dedicated himself to bettering his community.
Whalen stresses he has more trial experience than Cook, and he is right, at least in terms of the number of cases he has tried. But Cook appears to have the edge in diversity and breadth of experience. Though both would likely bring strengths to the bench, Cook's broad background and expertise in resolving disputes make her well suited for the bench. In Group 30, the Times recommends Martha Cook.
Circuit Court judge, Group 37
The runoff between Monica Sierra and Woody Isom should give voters an easier choice. Though both lawyers are likable, respectable and active in the community, Woody Isom is, by far, the more experienced and stellar candidate.
Isom, 58, has been practicing law for 27 years, almost two decades longer than Sierra. He has tried -- and mediated -- hundreds of civil cases, as well as some criminal cases early in his career. He also has experience resolving evidence disputes as a "special master." The husband of a sitting judge, Isom exhibits a keen intellect and patient demeanor, two traits that would serve him well on the bench.
Sierra, 36, is a nine-year lawyer, handling mostly real-estate, business and probate matters. A former legislative assistant who has run her own development company, Sierra says she offers a "different blend of experience," and she is right. But Sierra's legal experience is relatively narrow.
Sierra has run an energetic campaign, as her hefty vote in the September primary shows. She has garnered a number of influential endorsements. But Isom, too, has an endorsement that's hard to ignore: Of the more than 600 lawyers who answered the Hillsborough County Bar Association's preference poll, nearly 68 percent favored Isom. In Group 37, the Times recommends Woody Isom.
The Times offers candidates not recommended by its Editorial Board an opportunity to reply. Candidates should send in their replies no later than 5 p.m. Monday to: Philip Gailey, editor of editorials, St. Petersburg Times, P.O. Box 1121, St. Petersburg, FL 33731. By e-mail: letters@sptimes.com (no attachments, please). By fax: (727) 893-8675; Replies are limited to 250 words.