Candidate Profile-John Bradbury

Birth date: Aug. 7, 1936

Profession: District judge

Educational background: BA from the University of Idaho and JD from the University of Michigan

Public service (elected or appointed offices): US Army, district judge

Community service (service clubs, nonprofit boards, etc.): Operate three drug courts and one mental health court

How many years as a resident of your city: Seven years

Marital status: Single

Hobbies: Restoring the family homestead in Clearwater County

 Why are you running for office?

There are several problems with the judiciary and without an election they won't be discussed. I am running against an incumbent justice so we can have that discussion because without it there is no hope for change.

 What do you see as the three biggest issues you will face?

Most Idahoans can't afford our court system so they can't use it. All complaints and disciplinary proceedings against judges are kept secret from the public so the people don't trust the system. Most judges retire early so their successors can be appointed and avoid being accountable to those they serve through contested elections.

 If elected, what steps will you take to resolve these issues?

Hundreds of thousnds of dollars could be save with telephonic and telemedia hearings and electronic fillings. Night courts would allow people to have their day in court without losing a day's pay. Institutional comfort has trumped public convenience far too long.

We must make complaints against judges public. Otherwise we withhold the information the public needs to cast an informed vote and we remove the best incentive for good conduct, which is the certain knowledge that misconduct will be made public. People don't trust public officials who operate in secret.

In the last three years twenty-two judges retired early so the politicians could pick their successors and they could avoid a contested election. Only one of those appointed is a woman. Do you want judges who answer to the people who elect them or to the politicians who appoint them?

What specific skills or experience qualify you for this job?

I understand rural Idaho. I've seen the mills shut down and the jobs disappear. As a north Idaho justice I would bring balance to the court. As a lawyer I founded a 35-lawyer multi-state firm. As a judge I brought full-time judicial service and a mental health court to Clearwater and Lewis Counties for the first time.

 Why should voters elect you, rather than an opponent?

My opponent argues that twenty-eight years as a judge entitles him to six more. I argue that new blood, fresh ideas and a vision for an affordable, transparent and accountabe judiciary is the better choice.