State high court race makes up for lack of drama with importance

Regionalism, party affiliation, gender, money and qualifications will determine who replaces Justice Bill Maupin on the Nevada Supreme Court. I can’t say yet which factors will dominate in this oh-so-interesting and important race, but the statewide, nonpartisan race will be won via strategic twists and turns.

Maupin’s decision to retire startled a lot of people who expected he would cruise to re-election no matter who filed against him. But when he pulled out, four contenders jumped in. Three are well-qualified women. One is already a judge. The lone male is a former judge with the best name recognition, who lost credibility when he vouched for District Judge Elizabeth Halverson.

Each of the four contenders has strengths:

• Washoe County Family Judge Deborah Schumacher.

• Las Vegas attorney Nancy Allf.

• Las Vegas attorney Kris Pickering.

• Ex-Judge Don Chairez.

The first hurdle is emerging from the September primary as one of the two candidates on the November ballot. Each has a plan.

Schumacher, a Democrat, is the only sitting judge and only Northern Nevadan. The northern and rural voters tend to stick with a northern candidate.

Pickering grew up in Reno, and practiced law there for 10 years. Plus, she and her husband, Las Vegas attorney Steve Morris, own a ranch near Belmont and have ties to rural Nevada. An additional plus, at least outside of Clark County, she’s a Republican. And all things being equal, the rural counties lean Republican. Her northern roots and Republicanism count for something. But she also points to her range of experience.

“On the merits, I’m the best qualified,” she said, citing her scholarship and appellate experience and her work in state and federal courts.

Allf, a Democrat, has solid support among Nevada Democrats and is president of the Nevada State Bar. Her secret weapon is her husband, political strategist David Thomas, who will give her race his best effort.

“No one can outwork me,” Allf declared. “People know who I am and know my character and integrity.”

All three women are in their 50s and while each will argue their particular experience is “the best,” each is clearly qualified, articulate and has passion for the law.

Now will being the only man help Chairez? Possibly, but he’s burdened with one albatross. He told Republicans that Halverson was a great candidate, smart and qualified. His support helped her win the endorsement of the Review-Journal. Now he has a “greatly diminished chance” of again winning the Review-Journal’s endorsement, Publisher Sherman Frederick said.

But Chairez has name recognition from his time as a judge and because of his failed bids for Congress, the Nevada Supreme Court and attorney general. If he makes it out of the primary based on his name recognition, whichever woman is his opponent is expected to get lots of money because, while a pleasant person, he’s not highly regarded in the legal community.

It might be a race won by television ads, because Supreme Court races seldom get a lot of news media coverage unless something akin to mud-wrestling by the candidates occurs, which has happened in the past.

Schumacher believes voters want someone with judicial experience for the state’s top judicial post. Historically, the last nonjudge to make it to the Nevada Supreme Court was Cliff Young, and he had been a congressman before becoming a justice. That was in 1984.

The two nonjudges pooh-pooh the suggestion that being a sitting judge gives a candidate an edge.

Schumacher also believes her experience in Family Court makes her an asset to the bench at a time when foster care, child welfare and child custody are major issues in lower courts.

“I can’t fix the foster care system, but I can make sure the court is not the problem with the foster care system.”

Here’s a race where it could be a north-south matchup or a Democrat vs. Republican matchup or even a man versus woman matchup. Or it could be decided by who spends the most money to achieve name recognition.

There will be other races with more fireworks, but this is one to watch.

Ultimately, it should matter to you in this land of laws in which we live.

Jane Ann Morrison’s column appears Monday, Thursday and Saturday. E-mail her at Jane@reviewjournal.com or call (702) 383-0275.