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County's lawyers would put Purdy in judge's chair More than twice as many attorneys choose Purdy over Charter in State Bar poll By DANI DODGE Mail Tribune In a State Bar poll, Jackson County attorneys picked Bill Purdy over Joe Charter as their choice for the next Jackson County Circuit Court judge. "I've been very happy with the support I've received throughout the legal community and the community at large," Purdy said. "It's been very rewarding." But Charter was not despondent over the results. "We knew we were the underdog from the beginning - that we are running against the establishment because Mr. Purdy has been around for a long time and has a lot of friends," said Charter, who is the president of the Jackson County Bar Association. "And so we knew we had to run an aggressive campaign; so we have done that and will continue to do that." Purdy and Charter are candidates for the new Circuit Court judge position opening up in Jackson County. Their names will appear on the May 21 ballot. In the poll conducted by the Oregon State Bar, Jackson County's 278 attorneys were asked which candidate they preferred for judge. Of those who returned ballots, 91 chose Purdy and 44 chose Charter. That's a 48.6 percent turnout, which is less than the last time local attorneys were polled but more than the state average. "The average turnout was about 30 percent statewide," said State Bar spokeswoman Kateri Walsh. "There's a lot of contested races this year because a bunch of new positions were created." Retired attorney Walter "Walt" Nunley has petitioned the Oregon Supreme Court to also get his name on the ballot, but the court is waiting for a reply from the state before considering his petition. The Secretary of State's Office disqualified Nunley because at age 82 he is over the mandatory retirement age to serve as circuit court judge. Nunley said after he was disqualified by the state, the bar declined to put him on the preference poll. But he said he didn't think it would have made a difference. "I've probably gotten most of my support from people who have never heard of me (before I announced my candidacy)," he noted. And he wasn't surprised by the poll results. "I don't know either one really well, but Bill has always been highly regarded, and I don't think most people heard of Joe until he started to run," Nunley said. Charter said he's doing what he can to get his name and ideas out to the public. "The issue is what the voters think, not necessarily what the lawyers think as to who would be better on the bench," Charter said. But Purdy noted that during his years as an attorney, he always had many clients ask his advice on judicial races. "I think a judicial race is a lot different than others," Purdy said. "I think the general public knows that the lawyers know who would be a qualified candidate. "I would have been very disappointed if I had done poorly in the eyes of my peers." Reach reporter Dani Dodge at 776-4471, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.