Bayfield, Burnett judges challenged

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Among the four circuit court races in which candidates are looking to unseat incumbents, half are being run in the state’s Tenth Judicial District.

But geographical proximity aside, the dynamic of the races in Burnett and Bayfield counties are decidedly different.

Judge John P. Anderson has been on the bench in Bayfield County for six years, and is being challenged by private attorney Gene D. Linehan.

In Burnett County, longtime district attorney Kenneth L. Kutz was appointed to the court less than eight months ago and is being opposed by Douglas County Court Commissioner Paul W. Baxter.

Bayfield Challenge

Linehan is hoping to supplant Anderson. Linehan alleges the judge has done a poor job of communicating with county officials during his term and supported needless improvements to the courthouse.

Linehan, 65, has practiced statewide for 35 years and recently moved to Bayfield County to run for the lone judicial branch in the county. He currently focuses on criminal defense at Linehan Law Offices, based in Wausau.

He specifically called the recent $1.2 million renovation of the county’s main courtroom unnecessary given the state is facing a $5.4 billion dollar deficit. He suggested counties, especially those in the northern part of the state, need to be more cost conscious.

“John is a good guy, but I think it’s an issue of the quality of service,” Linehan said. “The court has to be independent, but a judge also has to go above and beyond as an administrator and he has not done that.”

Linehan said he would bring a “team approach” to the bench and work with court and county officials to address the needs of the community. Anderson, 46, said he feels his communication with county and court staff is just fine, given that he has helped expand the county’s criminal justice collaborating council and is working with officials to establish a drug treatment court.

“I’m not sure what more I can do and I completely disagree with the assertion that I haven’t worked with the county,” Anderson said.

Anderson, also said that technological, security and structural modernizations were necessary for a courtroom, which had not been updated since 1964. He added that the County Board evaluated the renovation for four years prior to authorizing the project in 2007.

Funding for the renovations came from a county reserve, said Anderson.

“Nobody’s taxes went up because of this,” Anderson said.

Given that Linehan’s practice is based in Wausau, which is in Marathon County, Anderson said the recent criticisms are hard to accept.

“My opponent wasn’t living here, wasn’t practicing here, but he had every right during the four years of discussion [about the renovations] to voice his opinion,” Anderson said. “He didn’t say anything until the whole thing was done, so it seems like water under the bridge at this point.”

Short-Term Incumbent

In Burnett County, Judge Kenneth L. Kutz said he has made the transition from prosecutor to judge in the eight months since his appointment to succeed Justice Michael J. Gableman on the circuit court.

But now he has to withstand the surprise challenge of Douglas County Court Commissioner Paul W. Baxter, who said a more diverse background will better serve people in the community.

“I wasn’t so much surprised that someone is running against me, but by the fact that the competition is coming from a different county,” said Kutz, who had served as a prosecutor in the Burnett County for almost 25 years, including 19 years as the district attorney.

Baxter, 51, has spent the last six years as court commissioner and the seven years prior in private practice handling criminal and family law cases, at times in Burnett County. He conceded that Kutz is a more familiar face in the county, but said he lacks the judicial experience to win a six-year term.

“It’s a matter of months [for Kutz], compared to my years of judicial experience [as a court commissioner],” Baxter said.

Though he has never run for office and did not apply for the judicial vacancy after Gableman was elected to the state Supreme Court, Baxter said if elected, he will not be faced with any potential conflicts of interest.

“In a single-judge county, that person has to hear all kinds of cases and I would not be faced with the potential of recusing myself from a case I may have addressed during my term as a prosecutor,” Baxter said.

Kutz admitted that he was disqualified from approximately 400 case files when he took the bench, but he was able to swap cases with incoming Barron County Judge James D. Babbitt, who also had been a prosecutor.

“We had similar conflicts, so we traded counties a couple of days a week,” Kutz said. He also said that despite his brief tenure on the bench, he has forged a strong working relationship with court staff during his time as a prosecutor, whereas Baxter has spent the last six years working and living in Douglas County.

“It’s always a benefit to be the incumbent and have people in the county see how you do on the job versus, I guess, a complete unknown from the outside,” Kutz said.

Six Other Races

Lancaster attorney Craig R. Day is challenging incumbent Judge George S. Curry for the Branch 2 seat in Grant County. Day, 43, said after 18 years as an attorney, he feels he can bring a fresh perspective to the bench. Curry was appointed in 1990 and elected in 1991, 1997 and 2003. Curry could not be reached for comment. Private attorneys James M. Isaacson and Steve Gibbs face off for the vacant Branch 2 seat in Chippewa County.

Isaacson won the Feb. 17 primary with 38 percent of the vote, compared to 34 percent for Gibbs. In Dane County, assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen E. Ehlke will attempt to make-up more than 10,000 votes against private attorney Julie Genovese, who won the primary with 63 percent of the vote. The winner will replace Judge Michael N. Nowakowski, who is retiring after 30 years. A pair of prosecutors square off for the Branch 1 seat in Douglas County, with 18-year district attorney Daniel W. Blank opposing 12-year assistant district attorney Kelly J. Thimm. In Green County, private practitioners Thomas J. Vale and Dan D. Gartzke emerged from the primary with 43 percent and 30 percent of the vote, respectively. The winner will be the first judge to serve in the county’s newly created second branch. Jefferson County Family Court Commissioner Jennifer L. Weston will face Watertown attorney Steven J. Luchsinger for the Branch 1 seat. Weston garnered 54 percent of the primary vote, compared to 29 percent for Luchsinger.