A weird scene appears to have unfolded in Washington County: First incumbent Judge Thomas Armstrong filed for reelection, then his law clerk, Dawn Hennessy, filed against him.
Yesterday, after the filings had closed, Armstrong withdrew his name, leaving Hennessey clear to run unopposed for his seat. Thus, with a neat trick, both governor and the voters appeared to have been left out of the equation in picking Armstrong’s successor. Understandably, this ruffled a few feathers and had some folks speaking out about what looked like an act of judge-clerk collusion.
Now we are informed that Hennessey has withdrawn her candidacy, leaving the seat with no candidates. Armstrong and Hennessy have not returned phone calls to Minnesota Lawyer.
Election observer attorney Karen Cole has been watching this little drama. See her comments, and those of others, here.
Well, they’re following a grand tradition. Lori Swanson did the same thing by enlisting Bill Luther to run against her for the AG slot in 2006. Luther didn’t campaign at all, but he split the male vote, allowing Lori to beat Steve Kelley (the endorsed candidate).
There was nothing stopping anyone from filing to run against either of them, and no one did. There’s nothing illegal about what they did. Shady perhaps…but I’m not seeing a problem otherwise.
I am no expert, but I’ll throw this out for consideration:
Look at the Minnesota Code of Judicial Conduct, specifically at Canon 2A Canon 2B, and Canon 5A(1)(c) and 5A(3)?
Should Judge Armstrong be held accountable under these guidelines?
[…] seat has already been the subject of a fair amount of scrutiny. As you may recall, Armstrong initially filed to run for re-election. Shortly before the end of the filing period, his […]