March 4, 2013

Dear Members: I am a Member of the Minnesota Senate and have been a practicing attorney for 25 years. Much of my practice has involved litigation. Because of my professional experience I have been approached on many occasions by interested parties regarding the proposed changes to our system of selecting judges. I recently agreed to co-author the judicial retention election bill. The purpose of this letter is to explain why I have chosen to do so. Generally speaking, there are two positions being advocated at the capitol. First, a pure elections system with very few, if any, limitations on the campaign. Second, the retention election system. It is my opinion that given the current makeup of the legislature, a pure election system will go nowhere: and it is entirely possible we will end up implementing the retention system. Passions are extremely high on both sides. I think it would be best for Minnesota to come up with a compromise that would give both sides a major win. I believe that is possible. Therefore it is my intent to work toward a hybrid system that would preserve the current system of elections and then provide a retention election for those judges that do not face a challenger. It is my intent to either amend the current bill, or propose a different piece of legislation. Senator Ann Rest (DFL-New Hope) is the chief author. Senator Rest and I have a very good working relationship and she is a person of integrity. While she has not yet committed to support this idea, she is open to it and will carefully consider whatever proposal I bring forward. There are some other changes that need to be made. For example, the question to be put on the ballot is leading, and needs to be made more objective. I will work on that issue, as well as a few other key changes I believe should be made. Please feel free to contact me at any time to discuss this issue. Sincerely,

Senator Dave Thompson