To the editor,
Michael Jaksa, Jerrod Shermoen, Kim Literovich, and Molly French wrote a letter to the editor which was published on Oct. 27.
Their letter does a great disservice to the judicial candidate Diana Sweeney, who will be on your ballot on Nov. 6 for a District Court seat. Their letter, aimed at challengers for Minnesota Supreme Court and Appellate Court seats, is too broad and tars Diana Sweeney by implication even though she is not one of the candidates they write against. Diana Sweeney is challenging an incumbent judge and Diana Sweeney is the much more qualified candidate and the only one of the two candidates for that district court seat who has been recommended by a judicial selection committee to the governor. She was one of three finalists recommended to the governor out of more than a dozen candidates for an open seat.
Diana Sweeney has been a practicing attorney for 24 years, six of those years in International Falls, and she has practiced all kinds of law, both criminal and civil, representing thousands of clients in court. Her opponent has been licensed only 10 years and has never represented a client in any court. He went directly from the entry level position of court clerk for four years to judge six years ago. His qualifications are poor and he would not be recommended to the governor for appointment to the bench.
The case Mr. Jaksa, Mr. Shermoen, Ms. Literovich and Ms. French made against voting for challengers is backwards regarding Diana Sweeney's candidacy for judge.
Diana Sweeney is running against a seated incumbent and she is the candidate who has far more experience and is the only one who has been vetted by the appointment process. I urge you all to vote for Diana Sweeney for district court judge on Nov. 6.
William Smith
Bemidji, MN
