Campaign for Supreme Court seat picks up steam

Montana's two Supreme Court candidates are ramping up their campaigns as the November election approaches, with both of them making recent stops in Kalispell.

Helena attorney Beth Baker was in the Flathead for a fundraiser and a family reunion last week, and Nels Swandal, a Livingston district judge, was in the area early this month.

Both commented on the unusual nature and challenges of nonpartisan judicial races, where candidates cannot speak directly to issues they may have to weigh in on as members of the state's high court.

"You can't raise issues, you can't talk about your opponent," said Swandal, who was in Kalispell to preside over a case in Flathead County — as he often does — in addition to campaigning.

"Judicial races are tough," he said, adding that name recognition can be more of a determining factor than experience or reputation. "It's a campaign where you try to get your name out there."

"It's different as a judicial candidate, and getting people to know who you are is important," said Baker, noting that she has been to meetings, events and "parades from Butte to Browning and everywhere in between. It's been a terrific way to learn about Montana communities."

Both candidates decline to discuss each other, but they emphasize their differences.

"It's a nonpartisan position, which is the only kind of position I think I would run for. You are really on your own" rather than being backed by political parties, Baker said.

"In terms of my experience, I bring broad and balanced experience," said Baker, who has spent 25 years in the legal field.

A University of Montana Law School graduate, Baker clerked for a U.S. District Court judge, worked for 12 years as an assistant attorney general under a Republican and a Democrat, and was appointed chief deputy in 1997. She joined a Helena law firm in 2000 and is now the managing partner.

She has appeared before the Montana Supreme Court and federal appeals courts in about three dozen cases.

Baker said she has a strong respect for the legal system, the "importance of even-handed administration of justice," and the deliberative efforts that the Legislature undertakes in passing state statutes.

"When [a state law] gets to court, the court has to have a healthy respect for that process," she said. The judiciary is obliged to ensure that statutes don't overstep constitutional boundaries but it should "not substitute its own ideas" over the intent of the Legislature.

That's an area about which Swandal also has strong feelings.

"The thing is I have opinions ... but my opinions don't get in the way of my judgments," Swandal said, stressing that he does not believe judges should be "legislating from the bench."

Swandal said it's inappropriate for a judicial candidate to share political views, especially on particular issues, but people can discern a candidate's political leanings judging from who they support and who supports them politically.

"People can look, and they are going to know that I am a conservative," he said.

Swandal said he is being supported by many of the trial attorneys who appear before him, and he is supported by all of Flathead County's District Court judges, which he said is somewhat unusual.

"Judges don't want to do that," he said. "It's just against their nature."

Swandal has been a Park County district judge for the last 16 years and prior to that he was the Park County attorney for 11 years.

A University of Montana Law School graduate, Swandal has 30 years of service in the U.S. Army, where he retired as a colonel with the Judge Advocate General's Corps.

He also is the current president of the Montana Judges Association.

If elected, Swandal notes that he would be the only justice on the court with prior experience as a judge. "They're all trial attorneys, which is neither good nor bad," he said of the current justices.

Baker says she has a broad base of support, including endorsements from her former bosses in the state Justice Department, Republican Marc Racicot and Democrat Joe Mazurek, as well as GOP and Democratic legislators.

"I think that's important because it shows the bipartisan backing I have," she said.

She also is endorsed by groups such as the Montana AFL-CIO and the Montana Conservation Voters.

"The broad support I have is what Montanans want to see in a judge, which is someone who will give them a level playing field," she said.

This week, Swandal is launching the race's first television advertisement. The ad carries a theme of bringing "balance and stability" to the state's high court, and it will address criticism about Swandal's past support for Republican candidates in Montana.

Reporter Jim Mann may be reached at 758-4407 or by e-mail at jmann@dailyinterlake.com.