Alpharetta mulls appointment of judges

Alpharetta voters will have one less decision to make on city ballots if two council members get their way.

The City Council will consider whether to make Alpharetta's municipal judge an appointed position rather than elected.

Councilmen D.C. Aiken and David Belle Isle introduced the proposal at Monday night's council workshop a plan where city residents and council would hold hearings for potential candidates and then have council select the judge to serve a four-year term.

Aiken reminded council in Georgia, only Roswell and Alpharetta elect their municipal judges. Part-time judges used by the city to handle a large case load already are appointed.

The reason Alpharetta can even consider switching the post from an elected one to an appointment is the result of a referendum in the 1980s allowing council to make that choice by ordinance. If City Council decides to make the switch, it will require an ordinance that also requires a public hearing, said City Attorney Sam Thomas.

In pushing for a change, Aiken said candidates for judicial posts are not allowed to run on issues, proclaiming themselves as "the DUI attorney, the family judge," Aiken said. As judicial candidates they only can list their credentials and qualifications.

"We could elect a real estate attorney who's never been in a courtroom before just because they had nicer signs and did a better mailing job," Aiken said.

"It's very hard [for judges] to run on an actual platform on what you believe in," Belle Isle said.

Aiken also said municipal campaigns these days cost approximately $20,000 to run, which will discourage candidates who are only interested in serving and not in the electoral process.

"Most attorneys who are interested serving in this very fundamental, very needed level are not necessarily excited about running a campaign," Belle Isle said.

What he and Aiken propose is a vetting process not much different than how U.S. Supreme Court justices are chosen. They suggested candidates for municipal judge submit their qualifications to the city.

Each would be allowed to state those qualifications in a public hearing held by council. At a later hearing, council and the public would be given the chance to ask the candidates any questions they had. After that hearing, council would vote on a candidate to fill a four-year term.

Municipal Judge Jim Matoney, who would be up for re-election next year, said he prefers leaving the deicsion to the voters.

"At this point in time, the Alpharetta Police Department and the Alpharetta court system enjoy a very good reputation in the legal community. My personal preference is that I would like to run for re-election to the post and let the voters decide whether or not I should serve another term," Matoney said.

Mayor Arthur Letchas voiced similar concerns with removing the municipal judge from the ballot, warning their could be push-back from the voters.

How the post has been filled in the past has, for the most part, been beneficial, he said.

"It's a separation of legislative, administrative and judicial powers," Letchas said. "I don't want to say there's a problem - there could be a problem."

Aiken said the purpose was not to take anything away from the voters but to allow a more informed decision to be made in sorting out the candidates. He said the process could end in an election, he just wants candidates chosen by an informed electorate.

Council agreed to have City Administrator Bob Regus and staff prepare several different processes to include a vetting process for the municipal judge, which will be presented as soon as December's council workshop.
- www.northfulton.com

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