On April 15th of this year, I wrote this post detailing why I believed that Judge Mike Anderson was a much better candidate for Harris County District Attorney than his opponent. I also detailed how Kristin Guiney, Joe Vinas, Ryan Patrick, and Renee Magee were the best candidates for Judge in their respective races. Yesterday, the Houston Bar Association released the results of its poll on the candidates' qualifications for office, which showed that I am not alone in my opinions.
If I did my math correctly (which is not a given, since I am an Aggie), 1720 members of the Houston Bar Association voted in the poll. Those who voted in the contested races were given the option of selecting one of four answers in response to a candidate's qualifications. Those options were: Not Rated, Not Qualified, Qualified, orWell Qualified. Given the fact that only lawyers who are members of the Houston Bar Association voted in the poll and that the majority of those members do not practice criminal law, it is not much of a surprise that the most commonly selected answer for the criminal races was "Not Rated."
This post is a breakdown of the percentages of each race by those who did feel that they knew the candidates well enough to rank their qualifications.
DISTRICT ATTORNEY CANDIDATES (REPUBLICAN PRIMARY) - PAT LYKOS vs. MIKE ANDERSON
In the votes for D.A., 570 voters (33.1%) did not rank Pat Lykos and 940 (54.6%) did not rank Mike Anderson. Of the percentages that did cast votes, the breakdown is as follows:
Mike Anderson WELL QUALIFIED - 452 (57.9%) QUALIFIED - 166 (21.3%) NOT QUALIFIED - 162 (20.7%)
Pat Lykos WELL QUALIFIED -350 (30.4%) QUALIFIED - 270 (23.5%) NOT QUALIFIED - 530 (46.1%)
SUMMARY: To know Pat Lykos doesn't appear to mean that one loves Pat Lykos. While some Republican faithful may like Lykos the Candidate, Lykos the Lawyer does not foster much confidence. It is also worth noting that attorneys working for the Harris County District Attorney's Office have their membership to the Houston Bar Association paid for by the Office. Despite having over 200 of her own employees voting on her qualifications, Pat Lykos got dangerously close to a 50% "Not Qualified" vote.
DISTRICT ATTORNEY CANDIDATES (DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY) - ZACK FERTITTA vs. LLOYD OLIVER
In the votes here, 1164 voters (67.7%) did not rank Zack Fertitta and 1172 (68.1%) did not rank Lloyd Oliver. Of the percentages that did cast votes, the breakdown is:
Zack Fertitta WELL QUALIFIED - 173 (31.1%) QUALIFIED - 187 (33.6%) NOT QUALIFIED - 196 (35.3%)
Lloyd Oliver WELL QUALIFIED - 19 (3.5%) QUALIFIED - 46 (8.3%) NOT QUALIFIED - 483 (88.1%)
SUMMARY: Ouch. As, I've pointed out before, Lloyd Oliver isn't a real candidate. He's been indicted numerous times and runs in every election. 88.1% of the lawyers voting recognize that. If it is any consolation to Mr. Oliver, more attorneys think that Pat Lykos isn't qualified (at least when it comes to raw numbers).
174th DISTRICT COURT (REPUBLICAN PRIMARY)
In the votes here, 1350 voters (78.5%) did not rank Joe Vinas and 1353 voters (78.7%) did not rank Robert Summerlin. In the percentages that did cast votes, the breakdown is:
Joe Vinas WELL QUALIFIED - 157 (42.4%) QUALIFIED - 106(28.6%) NOT QUALIFIED - 107(28.9%)
Robert Summerlin WELL QUALIFIED - 110 (30.0%) QUALIFIED - 60 (16.3%) NOT QUALIFIED - 197 (53.7%)
SUMMARY: As I mentioned in my earlier post, Summerlin hasn't been doing criminal law for the duration of his career like Vinas has. The results here are not surprising.
177th DISTRICT COURT (REPUBLICAN PRIMARY)
Of the votes here, 1391 voters (80.9%) did not rank Ryan Patrick and 1495 voters (86.9%) did not rank Antonio Benavides. Of the percentages that did cast votes, the breakdown is:
Ryan Patrick WELL QUALIFIED - 115(35.0%) QUALIFIED - 99(30.0%) NOT QUALIFIED - 115 (35.0%)
Antonio Benavides WELL QUALIFIED - 25(11.1%) QUALIFIED - 27(12.0%) NOT QUALIFIED - 173(76.9%)
SUMMARY: Patrick is a relatively young candidate for the bench, and I would imagine that would probably explain some attorneys having reservations about ranking him as "Well Qualified." For those of us who have worked with him, however, we know that he has a good head on his shoulders and will be a good judge. His age should not be a determining factor, especially in comparison to Mr. Benavides' lack of experience.
179th DISTRICT COURT (REPUBLICAN PRIMARY)
In the votes here, 1355 voters (78.8%) did not rank Kristin Guiney and 1225 voters (71.2%) did not rank Lana Shadwick. Of the percentages that did cast votes, the breakdown is:
Kristin Guiney WELL QUALIFIED - 206 (56.4%) QUALIFIED - 67 (18.4%) NOT QUALIFIED - 92 (25.2%)
Lana Shadwick WELL QUALIFIED - 93 (18.8%) QUALIFIED - 78 (15.8%) NOT QUALIFIED - 324 (65.4%)
SUMMARY: I think it is kind of amusing to see that almost the exact same number of attorneys who deem Shadwick to be "Well Qualified" find Guiney to be not qualified. Of course there are going to be hard-core partisan voters in all of these bar polls, but that type of mirroring indicates to me that only a die-hard Shadwick fan would pick her over Guiney. I cannot stress how much of a better candidate Kristin Guiney is than her opponent.
337th DISTRICT COURT (REPUBLICAN)
In the votes here, 1346 voters (78.2%) did not rank Renee Magee and 1223 voters (71.1%) did not rank Jim Barr. Of the percentages that did cast votes, the breakdown is:
Renee Magee WELL QUALIFIED - 206 (55.1%) QUALIFIED - 74 (19.8%) NOT QUALIFIED - 94(25.1%)
Jim Barr WELL QUALIFIED - 83(16.7%) QUALIFIED - 115(23.1%) NOT QUALIFIED - 299(60.2%)
SUMMARY: As I mentioned in my previous post, Barr may have once been qualified to be a judge, but his misconduct on the bench effectively eroded those qualifications.
If I did my math correctly (which is not a given, since I am an Aggie), 1720 members of the Houston Bar Association voted in the poll. Those who voted in the contested races were given the option of selecting one of four answers in response to a candidate's qualifications. Those options were: Not Rated, Not Qualified, Qualified, orWell Qualified. Given the fact that only lawyers who are members of the Houston Bar Association voted in the poll and that the majority of those members do not practice criminal law, it is not much of a surprise that the most commonly selected answer for the criminal races was "Not Rated."
This post is a breakdown of the percentages of each race by those who did feel that they knew the candidates well enough to rank their qualifications.
DISTRICT ATTORNEY CANDIDATES (REPUBLICAN PRIMARY) - PAT LYKOS vs. MIKE ANDERSON
In the votes for D.A., 570 voters (33.1%) did not rank Pat Lykos and 940 (54.6%) did not rank Mike Anderson. Of the percentages that did cast votes, the breakdown is as follows:
Mike Anderson WELL QUALIFIED - 452 (57.9%) QUALIFIED - 166 (21.3%) NOT QUALIFIED - 162 (20.7%)
Pat Lykos WELL QUALIFIED -350 (30.4%) QUALIFIED - 270 (23.5%) NOT QUALIFIED - 530 (46.1%)
SUMMARY: To know Pat Lykos doesn't appear to mean that one loves Pat Lykos. While some Republican faithful may like Lykos the Candidate, Lykos the Lawyer does not foster much confidence. It is also worth noting that attorneys working for the Harris County District Attorney's Office have their membership to the Houston Bar Association paid for by the Office. Despite having over 200 of her own employees voting on her qualifications, Pat Lykos got dangerously close to a 50% "Not Qualified" vote.
DISTRICT ATTORNEY CANDIDATES (DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY) - ZACK FERTITTA vs. LLOYD OLIVER
In the votes here, 1164 voters (67.7%) did not rank Zack Fertitta and 1172 (68.1%) did not rank Lloyd Oliver. Of the percentages that did cast votes, the breakdown is:
Zack Fertitta WELL QUALIFIED - 173 (31.1%) QUALIFIED - 187 (33.6%) NOT QUALIFIED - 196 (35.3%)
Lloyd Oliver WELL QUALIFIED - 19 (3.5%) QUALIFIED - 46 (8.3%) NOT QUALIFIED - 483 (88.1%)
SUMMARY: Ouch. As, I've pointed out before, Lloyd Oliver isn't a real candidate. He's been indicted numerous times and runs in every election. 88.1% of the lawyers voting recognize that. If it is any consolation to Mr. Oliver, more attorneys think that Pat Lykos isn't qualified (at least when it comes to raw numbers).
174th DISTRICT COURT (REPUBLICAN PRIMARY)
In the votes here, 1350 voters (78.5%) did not rank Joe Vinas and 1353 voters (78.7%) did not rank Robert Summerlin. In the percentages that did cast votes, the breakdown is:
Joe Vinas WELL QUALIFIED - 157 (42.4%) QUALIFIED - 106(28.6%) NOT QUALIFIED - 107(28.9%)
Robert Summerlin WELL QUALIFIED - 110 (30.0%) QUALIFIED - 60 (16.3%) NOT QUALIFIED - 197 (53.7%)
SUMMARY: As I mentioned in my earlier post, Summerlin hasn't been doing criminal law for the duration of his career like Vinas has. The results here are not surprising.
177th DISTRICT COURT (REPUBLICAN PRIMARY)
Of the votes here, 1391 voters (80.9%) did not rank Ryan Patrick and 1495 voters (86.9%) did not rank Antonio Benavides. Of the percentages that did cast votes, the breakdown is:
Ryan Patrick WELL QUALIFIED - 115(35.0%) QUALIFIED - 99(30.0%) NOT QUALIFIED - 115 (35.0%)
Antonio Benavides WELL QUALIFIED - 25(11.1%) QUALIFIED - 27(12.0%) NOT QUALIFIED - 173(76.9%)
SUMMARY: Patrick is a relatively young candidate for the bench, and I would imagine that would probably explain some attorneys having reservations about ranking him as "Well Qualified." For those of us who have worked with him, however, we know that he has a good head on his shoulders and will be a good judge. His age should not be a determining factor, especially in comparison to Mr. Benavides' lack of experience.
179th DISTRICT COURT (REPUBLICAN PRIMARY)
In the votes here, 1355 voters (78.8%) did not rank Kristin Guiney and 1225 voters (71.2%) did not rank Lana Shadwick. Of the percentages that did cast votes, the breakdown is:
Kristin Guiney WELL QUALIFIED - 206 (56.4%) QUALIFIED - 67 (18.4%) NOT QUALIFIED - 92 (25.2%)
Lana Shadwick WELL QUALIFIED - 93 (18.8%) QUALIFIED - 78 (15.8%) NOT QUALIFIED - 324 (65.4%)
SUMMARY: I think it is kind of amusing to see that almost the exact same number of attorneys who deem Shadwick to be "Well Qualified" find Guiney to be not qualified. Of course there are going to be hard-core partisan voters in all of these bar polls, but that type of mirroring indicates to me that only a die-hard Shadwick fan would pick her over Guiney. I cannot stress how much of a better candidate Kristin Guiney is than her opponent.
337th DISTRICT COURT (REPUBLICAN)
In the votes here, 1346 voters (78.2%) did not rank Renee Magee and 1223 voters (71.1%) did not rank Jim Barr. Of the percentages that did cast votes, the breakdown is:
Renee Magee WELL QUALIFIED - 206 (55.1%) QUALIFIED - 74 (19.8%) NOT QUALIFIED - 94(25.1%)
Jim Barr WELL QUALIFIED - 83(16.7%) QUALIFIED - 115(23.1%) NOT QUALIFIED - 299(60.2%)
SUMMARY: As I mentioned in my previous post, Barr may have once been qualified to be a judge, but his misconduct on the bench effectively eroded those qualifications.
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar