Tuesday's primary election in Harford County may or may not determine if Harford County Circuit Court Judge Angela Eaves continues in office, but it should tell us a lot about what people in this county think.
There's little, if any, fault to find with Eaves as a person or as a judge. She served with honor in the county's District Court for seven years and would have been a logical choice for any governor, regardless of party, for the Circuit Court vacancy that came up with last summer's retirement of Judge Maurice Baldwin.
Still, because circuit judges must win election to a full 15-year term, Eaves, who is the first black woman to be a judge in Harford County, faces the unenviable task of winning a countywide election in a place that in its history has elected just one black person to a local office.
Eaves has three challengers in Tuesday's primary, H. Edward Andrews III, Steven J. Scheinin and Charles Wagner, all white males. Their names will appear on both the Democratic and Republican ballots. If one candidate finishes first in both primaries, they will be unopposed in the November general election. If different candidates finish first in each primary, they will square off in the general election.
From a purely political standpoint, Eaves has some advantages as a candidate. She will be the only woman on Tuesday's ballots for judge, and Harford County has a proud progressive tradition of electing women to local offices. The Democratic turnout is likely to be high on Tuesday because its presidential nomination remains a tossup between Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, and there's a perception at least that Maryland's vote could influence the final outcome of that race.
On or away from the bench, Eaves makes a good impression in person, though it's obviously not possible for an incumbent judge to campaign aggressively. You don't hold rallies or go door-to-door but, while her opponents certainly could stage that kind of aggressive, personal campaign themselves, there's been no indication any of them have. Eaves has to rely on others to do the heavy lifting on the campaign trail. She has the backing of the local legal establishment, her campaign is well financed and her campaign manager, Bel Air lawyer Joe Snee, is a major political player locally.
Even when they face opposition, incumbent circuit court judges usually prevail in elections. There have been a couple of nasty judicial elections in Harford County, notably in 1968 and 1984, but the incumbents always came out on top. The only time a judge has ever been unseated in Harford County occurred 54 years ago, but under far different circumstances than today, because voters in both Harford and Baltimore counties determined the outcome. Even so, the 1954 unseating of Judge D. Paul McNabb by Stewart O. Day happened under a kind of perfect political storm which could be brewing in 2008.
Eaves was appointed to the bench by a Democratic governor who lost Harford County in the last election and has become more unpopular since, thanks to last year's tax increases. The county votes Republican, and some voters will probably associate Eaves with the Democrats, even though candidates’ political affiliations aren’t noted on the ballot. And, though you don't want to hear it, Harford's insular racism is likely to be on display at the polls Tuesday, just as it is in all things political and, for that matter, in everyday life.
If Eaves doesn't win outright Tuesday, most people involved in the campaign expect it will be Wagner, who either gains a split, or, more unlikely, wins outright. A split sets up a general election campaign that will test the mettle of two people who appear to have more similarities than differences.
Wagner has the backing of the local Republican Party establishment, of which his wife is a member. He's raised almost as much money as Eaves. Pleasant, self-effacing and unassuming, Wagner comes from a blue collar background, went to college and law school at night while working construction, and once ran for the House of Delegates as a Democrat. He also applied for the judgeship last fall, but did not make it to the judicial nominating commission's list of three finalists.
Wagner says he brings his own diversity to the table from a very broad base, and he is entirely believable when he says neither race nor gender ought to play a role in the voters' decisions.
In the end, however, the outcome of the 2008 judicial race will depend on the local electorate's willingness, or unwillingness, to take off the blinders and look beyond stereotypes.
If we expect our judges to be fair and open-minded, shouldn't we be the same when it comes to voting for them?
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