There is a contested race for District Court judge seated in Bemidji. Though primarily located in Beltrami County, voters in 17 counties get to vote. I support incumbent Judge Terrance Holter for reelection over his opponent, John Melbye, his former law clerk.
John Melbye states in a Bemidji Pioneer background article that he has never represented a client in court, but he claims that he has thousands of hours of experience in the courtroom - but as an observer, not an advocate. A full-time job, 40 hours per week, is 2,080 hours per year. Are we supposed to believe that Mr. Melbye has put in roughly a quarter (or more) of his full-time job "observing" in the courtroom during the four and a half years he worked for Judge Holter? I think Mr. Melbye has padded his resume.
Mr. Melbye also said he mulled over running for judge for a while. According to his campaign finance filing, he started spending money on his campaign months before he quit working for Judge Holter. However, he never bothered to tell Judge Holter that he intended to run against him, and worse, he waited until Judge Holter was on vacation and resigned on the day he filed for the campaign and cleaned out his desk during the night without giving any notice. I don't find his behavior forthright or admirable. I think it shows a lack of integrity, and Mr. Melbye said this about judges and integrity, "A judge's word, honesty and integrity is the most important things they can have." We agree on that.
An attorney should practice law in a courtroom before becoming a judge. It's the natural progression of things; like children growing into adults. It isn't right to skip such an important learning step. Imagine that scenario in any work situation you're familiar with and the logic is obvious. I can't support John Melbye in his campaign for a District Court judgeship because he isn't well prepared for the job and shows a lack of integrity by his actions.
William Smith
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