Chronic Inconsistency

Anybody who likes to start their Sunday morning with a little bit of stupidity from the Chronicle was given to a special treat this morning in their editorial section. Under the "We recommend" section, they do the two following endorsements:

• Judge, 174th Criminal District Court, Kevin Keating — A career prosecutor, Keating has a wealth of experience. He has appealed capital murder cases for the state to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court. He is an expert on forensic mental health issues that increasingly affect the course of justice.
• Harris County district attorney, Pat Lykos — A former state district judge and Houston police officer, Lykos is well-qualified to be the county's chief prosecutor. She promises to seek justice, not convictions regardless of guilt or innocence. An outsider, Lykos is better prepared than her opponent to restore ethics and judgment to the district attorney's office.

Alrighty then.

So, Kevin Keating would make a good Judge because he is a career prosecutor.
And Pat Lykos would make a good District Attorney because she is not a career prosecutor?

Am I the only person who sees the flaming stupidity in the Chronicle's rationale here?

The 174th Republican Primary

Per JAGJO's Request:

Although I've been focusing most of attention on the runoff race for D.A. between Kelly Siegler and Pat Lykos, there is another runoff going on that is of great importance to those of us at the CJC.

Assistant District Attorneys Bill Moore and Kevin Keating will be facing each other in the April 8th election to see who will be the Republican candidate for the 174th District Court, currently held by Judge George Godwin, who is retiring at the end of his term. The winner of the Republican primary will face Democratic candidate and former judge Ruben Guerrero (who knocked off Lloyd "God knows I'll run for anything" Oliver in the Dem primary).

As I've said before (and JAGJO understands), I think very highly of Bill and Kevin, just as I think very highly of John Jocher and Terrance Windham, who didn't make the runoff. Therefore, I won't publicly pick sides on the issue.

I would like to congratulate Bill, Kevin, John and Terrance on all running a clean race and seeming to manage to stay friends through it all.

NOTE: Since Mark Bennett endorsed either Terrance or John, I would imagine that Kevin and Bill will be seeking out Mark and asking him to please not endorse them, as he may be the kiss of death. Just kidding, Mark.

Okay, JAGJO, my friend, the comments board is now open for discussion!

Four prosecutors walk into a judicial race . . .

It kind of sounds like the start of a bad bar joke, but, believe it or not, there are some other interesting things going on at the courthouse besides stories of Chuck Rosenthal scandals.

The Honorable George Godwin has chosen not to run for re-election in the 174th District Court, leaving an open field of contenders to replace him. I've got to admit a personal bias here. I'm a huge fan of Judge Godwin, and whoever does get the bench has got some pretty big shoes to fill. In my opinion, he's one of the last great judges who gave Harris County some of the character that we are famous or infamous for.

On the Democratic side, former-judge Ruben Guerrero is running against perpetual candidate Lloyd Oliver. Lloyd seems to run for something every election, usually targeting the most junior of judges as his opponent. Thus far, he's done about as well as Dick DeGuerin trying a case against Kelly Siegler (sorry, couldn't help one last jab that with analogy). The only thing more appetizing to Lloyd than a rookie incumbent is wide-open field, obviously. Breathe easy, Judge Bridgewater. Breathe easy.

But on the Republican side, four assistant District Attorneys are all competing against each other for the nomination (in alphabetical order so that it doesn't appear that I'm picking favorites):

John Jocher - Chief of the 209th District Court, and an all around nice guy. He's got the temperament to be a very formidable opponent in any election.
Kevin Keating - Appellate prosecutor who is highly respected by his peers for his intelligence and knowledge of the law. He's the guy the trial lawyers call when they have a question about the law.
Bill Moore - Chief of the 232nd District Court, and also a very nice guy. Bill spent a lot of time in the Special Crimes division before returning to the trial division a few years back.
Terrance Windham - Chief of the 314th District Court, which is a Juvenile District Court. Terrance, I believe is the only candidate to have ever run for higher office before. He's a former military man who does a good job of inspiring loyalty in the "troops" he supervises.

All of the prosecutors that I've talked to genuinely like all four of the candidates, and appear a little torn at the moment about who to support for the position. Look for the A.D.A.'s to remain awkwardly quiet about this race until after the primary has settled the issue for them.

Gee, if only the D.A.'s office had something to distract them from this race to help alleviate the awkwardness . . . .

UPDATE: Marky Mark Bennett on his website has made his official endorsement.