A contentious race for small-town judge

By LYNNETTE HINTZE

The Daily Inter Lake

The election race for Whitefish City Judge, a position unchallenged for two decades, has been a study in small-town politics.

Flathead Justice Court Clerk Valarie Eve announced in May she would challenge incumbent Judge Bradley Johnson, who has held the post since 1986. It wasnt long after that the race turned contentious.

Letters to the editors of local newspapers flew back and forth addressing various statements made by both camps. Johnson challenged Eve to open her personnel file at City Hall to media scrutiny after she told the press he had created a hostile work environment. She balked, but finally opened her file exclusively to the Daily Inter Lake.

Eves previous employment as a Whitefish City Court clerk for 18 months came into question as campaign rhetoric spiraled into a he-said, she-said battle. City officials declined to weigh in on the details of Eves abrupt transfer to the city water department in January 2003.

Amid the political ruckus, Johnsons wife, Lisa, went on a fact-finding mission to Conrad (where Eve was once an appointed city judge) and pored over newspaper archives and City Council minutes.

Then there was the public debate that morphed into a symposium of Johnsons viewpoints when Eve refused to participate, saying she wanted to campaign door-to-door instead.

All this over a job with a pay range of $21,000 to $57,500.

THE STAGE was set for a campaign battle after Johnson corrected Eves statement that she worked as a clerk at Whitefish City Court for three years. While her employment technically included parts of three years, she actually worked there only 18 months, from July 2, 2001, to Jan. 27, 2003.

Eve maintains a transfer to the water department was the only way she could still work for the city and escape the hostile work environment Johnson had created. She declined to cite specifics about Johnsons behavior, saying thats not what the judge race is about.

It was obvious there was nothing anyone could do except a lateral transfer.

Johnson claims Eve went through his personal effects and his work product, speculating wrongly on what I was doing and then sharing her impressions with people outside the court. He was alerted to the alleged misconduct and breach of duty as it related to confidentiality after a legal secretary observed Eve going through papers on Johnsons desk.

She then told the local attorney for whom she worked. The attorney alerted Johnson.

Johnson contacted City Manager Gary Marks about Eves reported improprieties. At the same time, Eve said she was going back and forth with Marks to see what could be done about her work environment.

Marks and City Attorney John Phelps declined to release a copy of the only written memorandum pertaining to the personnel issue. There was no information about the circumstances of the transfer in Eves file, except for a letter acknowledging her transfer to the water department and a description of her new duties.

Johnsons personnel file contained no mention of any hostile work environment or any related correspondence, including the confidential copy of a memo sent by Marks to Johnson regarding apparent corrective guidance given to Eve.

Marks said its up to his discretion what to include in personnel files, and added that Johnsons file is somewhat different than other city employee files because hes elected and works independently.

Shellee Abel, the water department employee who switched jobs with Eve and is now the court clerk, said she was called into Marks office and was asked if shed be willing to help out with a personnel situation at City Court. She agreed, with the caveat that she could retain her employment with the city if the clerk job didnt work out.

Marks requested the transfer on a Friday; Abel started work in City Court the following Monday.

E-MAIL MESSAGES posted on the FindLaw.com Web site indicate Eve was looking for ways to make her clerks job manageable when she contacted Tamara Utens at FindLaw, an informational Web site for legal professionals.

My problem is that the acting judge hates me and makes my work life miserable, Eve wrote. He locks documents up in the vault so I do not have access to them. He is very uncivil to me unless of course someone else is in the office. There doesnt seem to be a lot that can be done.

Utens suggested she seek legal counsel.

Perhaps he or she (an attorney) will suggest that you file a complaint with the judicial disciplinary entity or the attorney may tell you that the behavior is not actionable, Utens wrote to Eve.

Eve confirmed the e-mail exchange, saying she was looking for advice of any kind that would create a better working environment between her and Johnson.

After Eve went public with her hostile work environment accusation, Johnson sought a response from the city attorney, saying the statement was factually untrue and needs to be addressed in order to preserve the credibility of the city of Whitefish in properly dealing with employee issues.

City officials declined on all levels to discuss Eves employment situation.

It was at that point Johnson said he would open his file to the media and suggested Eve do the same.

Openness fosters public confidence, he wrote in a letter to City Attorney John Phelps.

Eve first declined to open her personnel file, but subsequently agreed to let the Daily Inter Lake look at it on a one-time-only basis. All correspondence that contained her Social Security number was removed before the inspection.

A PROBE of Eves personnel file shows a six-month review of her work performance by Marks indicated he believed she was doing a good job.

I believe you are bringing a high level of professionalism to the court, Marks wrote in his review. The court clerks office is visibly better organized and court collections have dramatically improved since assumption of your position.

But there was an undertone of something amiss between the working relationship of Eve and other city-court personnel.

Marks urged her to integrate herself into the staff, then wrote, while I believe you have attempted to build similar relationships within the court, it is unclear to what extent you have been successful. I believe that I should have provided you with a clear chain of command and structure in reference to the part-time clerks position.

In Eves written response to Marks report, she wrote, I am not happy with my working relationship with _____[name left blank in the report] and I know that I can greatly improve this relationship.

Since no name was provided in Eves response, its not clear whether she was referring to Johnson or a part-time clerk in that office.

AN OCT. 6 guest editorial in the Whitefish Pilot written by Rick Nagle, a substitute judge in Whitefish City Court, became another contentious element in the judge campaign. Nagle implied that City Finance Director Mike Eve, Eves husband, wanted the court to set specific revenue projections for the fines it levied.

Nagle questioned whether Valarie Eve had the determination and inclination to confront Michael Eve … each time that he attempts to use the court as a revenue source for citys coffers?

That prompted a response from Marks, who said he can assure him [Nagle] and the entire community that no one on my staff, including Mr. Eve, sets revenue goals for the City Court.

Throughout his campaign, Johnson has stressed the importance of an independent judiciary. He has noted that while the city signs his paycheck, he doesnt work for the City Council on any level.

In early 2003, when a Whitefish City Council member asked why the City Court appeared to be lagging behind revenue projections, both Johnson and Nagle lectured the council about the need for an autonomous court.

Eve also acknowledged that there is a definite separation of powers for the judicial arm of city government.

My being married to Mike doesnt interfere with that, she said. There are safeguards, and if I were to impinge on that separation of powers, the Supreme Court would boot me off the bench.

After Eve was appointed city judge for Conrad and Valier in late 1997, court records provided to the Daily Inter Lake by Lisa Johnson show monthly fine collections roughly doubled once Eve was judge. Eve said court revenue increased significantly, but only because she began sending summons notices out to violators who had been fined.

Some courts dont send summons out, and that court hadnt sent summons out, she said. When I took over, I sent them out. I didnt raise fines. Its like a business once the judge levies the fine.

Eve maintained that she began sending more summonses out while she was the Whitefish court clerk, and collections increased.

Johnson said collections increased during that time not because of Eves work, but because of another part-time court clerk who had been a police dispatcher and did a considerable amount of work in retrieving money from drivers-license suspensions.

She [the part-time clerk] knew how to work with the computer system so the summons went to the right place, Johnson said. Weve always sent out summons and warrants and drivers license suspensions.

BOTH JOHNSON and Eve have staged visible campaigns, walking the streets, going door-to-door and talking with voters. Both participated in a Whitefish Chamber of Commerce-sponsored candidate forum, but Eve declined the Northwest Montana Bar Associations invitation to an Oct. 19 debate.

She said she wanted to keep her campaign on a personal level and would rather meet the voters individually, but lawyers who set up the debate were miffed at Eves response. The event proceeded with just Johnson on stage responding to questions.

Johnson has built his campaign around his experience, education, independence and integrity. Eve has campaigned for a peoples court, accessible to the public, and wants to draw on various programs such as the Balanced and Restorative Justice Program.

On Tuesday, Whitefish voters head to the polls to make sense of a race thats been anything but dull.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by e-mail at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com