|
In State Supreme Court Race, Age is the Unspoken Issue
By Steven Walters, Journal Sentinel
March 14, 2009
Supreme Court candidate Randy Koschnick has said it repeatedly: Nobody should serve on the court for 32-plus years.
It's the closest the challenger comes to making the age - 75 - of his opponent, Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson, an issue in the April 7 election for what would be her fourth 10-year term on the state Supreme Court.
Abrahamson was appointed to the court in August 1976 and became chief justice in 1996.
If re-elected, she could make history:
•&enspIf she serves for five more years, she would become the longest-serving justice in Supreme Court history. Her tenure would break the record set by former Chief Justice Orsamus Cole, who served from 1855-'92, state Law Library records show.
•&enspIf she finishes a new 10-year term, she would be the oldest chief justice in Wisconsin history, edging former Chief Justice Edward T. Fairchild, who left office at 84 in 1957.
When asked about Abrahamson's age, the 48-year-old Koschnick said: "I don't think it's an issue. I'm not going to make it an issue."
But in campaign appearances, the Jefferson County circuit judge has repeatedly said: "I won't run for a third term (if elected). I think two terms is enough. .&ensp.&ensp. I think 32 years is too long."
He most recently made that comment March 7 at a Milwaukee convention of political conservatives.
But Abrahamson, who drives around the state alone making judicial and campaign appearances and who works long hours in her Capitol office, does not appear to be slowing down.
She's CEO of a three-tier court system - including Circuit Court, Court of Appeals and Supreme Court judges and their staffs - that will cost taxpayers about $170 million next year.
If anything, Abrahamson appears energized by Koschnick's challenge.
"Don't count me out for another 10" years on the court, she said.
"I'm careful about my diet," Abrahamson said. "I'm always moving."
Asked if she planned to serve all 10 years of a new term, she said, "Absolutely. Absolutely."
About 377,000 Wisconsin residents - or 6.6% of the population - are 75 or older, according to demographers at the state Department of Administration. No numbers are available on how many of them are working full time.
Age no impediment
Two national experts on aging said they know of no reason why Abrahamson's age would disqualify her as head of Wisconsin's court system. Both said they did not know Abrahamson, so they had no knowledge of her personally.
"Age is a very poor criteria to judge competency," said Mark Sager of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a physician and specialist in aging issues and Alzheimer's.
"It's ability, it's competency, it's performance that is the most important indicator of their ability to do a job," Sager said.
Sager noted that U.S. Supreme Court justices serve lifetime terms.
"For some reason, age was not a concern for our forefathers, and it's certainly not a concern on the Supreme Court of the United States," he said.
Thomas Meuser, a professor and aging specialist at the University of Missouri-St Louis, said specialists break older adults into three categories: "young old," "old" and "oldest old."
"Someone at 75 is still potentially on the 'young old' side," Meuser said. "We have an aging revolution going on in this country right now. All the stereotypes about older adults are getting wiped out.
"Many people 75 today look and function like people 65 (of) 30, 40 years ago."
Meuser also said he doesn't think age is a valid campaign issue.
"With age comes experience," he said. "I was not against John McCain running for president" at age 72.
"Look at someone like Colin Powell; he's 71," Meuser said. "No one thinks of him as old."
Several other top elected officials are 70 or older: Senate President Fred Risser (D-Madison), 81; Rep. Thomas Lothian (R-Williams Bay), 80; U.S. Sen Herb Kohl (D-Wis.), 74; Rep. Annette "Polly" Williams (D-Milwaukee), 72; Sen. Alan Lasee (R-De Pere), 71; and Supreme Court Justice Pat Crooks, Rep. Karl Van Roy (R-Green Bay) and Rep. John Townsend (R-Fond du Lac) all 70.
Wisconsin's oldest governor, Republican Walter S. Goodland, was 80 when he took office in 1943. He served until his death in March 1947.
More Information on US Health Issues
|
