Supreme Court candidates move forward full speed toward general election

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As the contest for the state Supreme Court moves forward without a primary, the two candidates are moving forward in high gear.

Advisors for incumbent Justice Louis B. Butler Jr. and Burnett County Circuit Court Judge Michael J. Gableman expect campaigning and fundraising to intensify in the coming weeks.

Each camp has established distinct strategies with Butler viewed as the more liberal candidate and Gableman as the conservative in the non-partisan race.

The withdrawal of Madison-area attorney Charlie Schutze has left Gableman as the lone challenger to Butler, who was appointed by Gov. Jim Doyle in 2004. No incumbent justice has been defeated since 1967, but that fact has not fazed Gableman, who was first appointed by Gov. Scott McCallum.

“I think the differences between Mike and Justice Butler are pretty strong,” said Darrin Schmitz, campaign advisor to Gableman. “However, with the campaign being narrowed down to two, that does allow voters to have a clearer contrast.”

For the Record

Sachin Chheda, campaign coordinator for Butler, agreed that the message of the two campaigns has, and will continue to differ. Chheda said Butler intends to focus on his judicial experience, rather than personal perspective.

“You are hearing a radical message unlike that of any other candidate for the Supreme Court from our opponent who is saying judges should have a certain viewpoint,” said Chheda. “Justice Butler believes every case should be handled in a neutral and unbiased manner, whereas our opponent has caused litigators concern in saying he’s conservative and may not be walking into cases unbiased.”

Schmitz said that Gableman simply intends to openly discuss the record of both candidates, and that voters can decipher the judicial philosophy for themselves. He pointed to Butler’s 2000 Supreme Court campaign against Diane Sykes, where Butler, the challenger, said voters have a right to know who they are electing to the high court.

“He explicitly said a candidate’s record needs to be discussed and should be,” said Schmitz. “Voters need to know more about candidates than veiled references to judicial philosophy.”

A campaign pledge drafted by the newly created Wisconsin Judicial Campaign Integrity Committee (WJCIC) is designed to keep the Supreme Court candidates focused on relevant campaign issues and avoid rhetoric.

Chheda indicated that Butler has agreed to sign the pledge, while Schmitz said Gableman is in the process of further discussing the matter with Thomas J. Basting, Sr., the committee’s chair.

“We’ve traded a few phone calls with Mr. Basting and we anticipate having a conversation soon,” said Schmitz.

Basting issued a letter on Dec. 20 in response to Gableman’s initial statement which claimed the committee “said Louis Butler's record as a Supreme Court Justice was fair discussion in the race for the state's highest court.”

In the response letter, Basting said he was “dismayed” by Gableman’s statement and that the committee never said anything about Butler’s record or that related material produced by Gableman’s campaign was “fair.”

Basting concluded the letter by requesting that Gableman’s campaign “repudiate this rhetoric and join us in promoting public confidence in a fair and impartial judiciary.”

Law and Order

So far, Gableman has emphasized his background as a criminal prosecutor and touted his endorsements from law enforcement agencies around the state.

Schmitz said that Gableman’s “tough on crime” image is a stark contrast to that of Butler.

Gableman has received diverse support from sheriffs and district attorneys from around the state, but Butler counts numerous circuit court judges and both Milwaukee County District Attorney John T. Chisholm and Dane County District Attorney Brian Blanchard among his backers.

Despite running from a rural location, as opposed to Butler who lived in Milwaukee and works in Madison, Schmitz said Gableman does not consider that a hindrance. He pointed to Gableman only campaigning for “[one-]third of the time” that Butler has for this election, and the swell of support from law enforcement.

“It’s not a challenge at all because in a short amount of time, the majority of sheriffs in the state have come on board,” said Schmitz. “That speaks volumes about how law enforcement view Butler and some of the decisions he’s made from the bench.”

Go Figure

The next campaign finance filing date is Jan. 31 to cover the fundraising period of June 1 through Dec. 31, 2007. Gableman and Butler will file their pre-primary reports on Feb. 11 and a pre-election update on March 24.

Neither advisor would specify how much the candidates had raised to this point, but Chheda thought Butler was setting a record pace for a Supreme Court election.

He indicated that, not counting personal contributions, Butler had raised more money through Dec. 31 than last year’s candidates, combined, at the same point in the election.

“We’re under the assumption that last year’s race between Ziegler and Clifford was the most expensive Supreme Court race in state history, so by comparison, we are ahead of what those two candidates had raised,” said Chheda, who added that Butler has received contributions from more than 800 supporters.

Schmitz said Gableman has set fundraising goals for each of the reporting periods and that those goals are currently being met.

“We don’t anticipate any changes with regards to fundraising,” said Schmitz. “However, we may look to spend money in different kinds of ways now that there won’t be a primary.”