By John Flesher
Associated Press Writer
TRAVERSE CITY (AP) -- Michigan Supreme Court Justice Alton "Tom" Davis says he's determined to keep his election campaign focused on his experience and qualifications. Republican operatives who contend he got his job through shady back-room dealmaking have other ideas.
By all accounts, the 63-year-old Davis is a distinguished jurist who easily qualifies for a seat on the state's highest court. His résumé includes private law practice, five years on the Michigan Court of Appeals and two decades as a circuit judge in the northern Lower Peninsula, where he developed a reputation for evenhandedness and smarts.
When Gov. Jennifer Granholm named Davis, a fellow Democrat, to the appeals court in 2005, among those praising the appointment were two high-profile Republicans: state Rep. Kevin Elsenheimer, who would become the House GOP leader; and Bill Schuette, a former judge, legislator and congressman who is now his party's nominee for attorney general.
"His contribution to the state of Michigan will be immeasurable," Elsenheimer said in a letter to Granholm.
Even so, Republicans believe there's a chink in Davis' armor.
Granholm appointed him to the seven-member Supreme Court in August to replace Betty Weaver, a moderate Republican-turned-independent who resigned after a stormy tenure in which she clashed openly and repeatedly with conservative justices.
Weaver, whose term was to expire this year, stepped down after securing a promise from Granholm to choose a successor from northern Michigan and sounding out Davis about taking the job. It was perfectly legal, but Republicans cried foul because the maneuver enabled Davis to run for election this fall as an incumbent.
In a made-for-TV commercial, the Michigan GOP describes his appointment as "sleazy" and likens it to the capers of Rod Blagojevich, the disgraced former Illinois governor.
"Don't gamble Michigan's future on Alton 'the deal' Davis," the narrator intones.
Robert Young Jr., one of the court's conservatives and himself a candidate for re-election, also raised the issue in an interview with The Associated Press. Davis has the credentials to serve, Young said, but the way he reached the high court "looks unsavory."
Young ascended to the court under somewhat similar circumstances -- appointed by former Republican Gov. John Engler in 1999 and elected in his own right the next year.
Mark Brewer, executive director of the state Democratic Party, said the Davis appointment was "very straightforward" and no more questionable than Young's.
Davis declined to discuss the matter, telling the AP in an e-mail he would not respond to any negative comments as he seeks election.
"My focus during this campaign is to communicate my message of bringing experience, civility and reform to Michigan's Supreme Court," he said. "And I am going to do so in a professional manner."
Candidates for Supreme Court are nominated by the political parties but are on the nonpartisan portion of the ballot.
Davis, a one-time Democratic chairman in Crawford County, downplayed his party ties in an interview, saying he was a member of a young Republicans group in college and initially became a Democrat to enhance the cross-party appeal of a law partner running for prosecutor.
Davis says he felt more philosophically comfortable as a Democrat, describing himself as fiscally conservative and socially liberal, but insisted those labels are meaningless in a judicial context. He says he couldn't have won election repeatedly as a county judge in a solidly Republican district without strong bipartisan support.
"I did what the people expected of me, which was to act like a judge," he says. "I wasn't making political decisions."
Forbidden by ethical canons from discussing issues that might come before the court, Davis' campaign talking points emphasize the depth and breadth of his service and his determination to help end the justices' "embarrassing" public bickering.
He told the AP he'd raised the subject with his new colleagues. "I think there's a desire -- and I hope it's genuine -- to move on and reach a little higher ground," he says.
Supporters say Davis' self-portrayal as a bridge builder is accurate, and rooted in his small-town upbringing. The Petoskey native was raised in the village of Burt Lake and has lived in Grayling for more than 30 years, where he practiced law before joining the bench.
A fly-fishing buff, he says the "up-north" lifestyle features a slower tempo than is typical in big cities, as well as a strong sense of community. The north's abundant woods and waters, he says, have a "calming influence" and encourage reflection.
Davis speaks admirably of John Voelker, the celebrated Upper Peninsula author and former Supreme Court justice who also treasured rural solitude. The high court, dominated by residents of metro Detroit, needs at least one representative of Michigan's vast hinterlands with a commonsense perspective, he says.
Barry Gates, president of the Michigan Association for Justice, a trial lawyers' group, says Davis is ideal for such a role: intellectual, yet a "regular-guy" type who doesn't intimidate attorneys or citizens in the courtroom.
Davis says it's simply a matter of giving everyone a fair hearing and writing opinions that aim to help ordinary citizens to understand why a particular ruling was made, instead of scoring rhetorical points against fellow justices.
"We're in the business of solving the cases that are in front of us," he says, "not the problems of the universe."
Published: Tue, Oct 19, 2010
