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Voters support Jo County judge O'Neal survives recall effort, 68-32 percent By CHRIS BRISTOL GRANTS PASS -- A Josephine County judge targeted by supporters of a convicted child molester with help from an ultra right-wing group handily survived recall. Final, unofficial returns from the county clerk Thursday night gave Judge Loyd O'Neal 14,692 votes, or 68 percent. Voters who said yes to recall numbered 6,844, or 32 percent. Turnout in the vote-by-mail election was estimated at nearly 50 percent. O'Neal, a former FBI agent and prosecutor who has served on the bench for 16 years, was ecstatic. "The system works. Democracy works," he said from a post-election party at The Brewery restaurant. "Whenever voters get the facts, they usually make the right decisions. This is a classic case of that." As for fears that the recall divided the community, O'Neal said time would tell. "I think this election cures most of that." The recall campaign was sponsored by supporters of T.J. "Jack" Burris, a log truck driver from Hugo now serving eight years in prison after his conviction last year of sexually abusing his granddaughters. An earlier trial ended in a hung jury. Burris's supporters accused the judge of helping prosecutors railroad an innocent man by suppressing evidence and failing to remove a biased juror who claimed during deliberations that she suddenly remembered abuse at the hands of her own grandfather years before. One of the recall leaders was Rosella Saenz, a Grants Pass housewife who served on the second Burris jury and said the experience "opened my eyes" to the way the criminal justice system works. In a phone interview Thursday night, Saenz accused O'Neal's supporters of "smearing" recall leaders and said the judge won only because his campaign had a bigger war chest for advertising. "They said we were child molester protectors," she said. "That's a low blow." O'Neal's supporters countered that a jury convicted Burris, not the judge, who conducted a by-the-book trial. The eight-year Burris sentence was mandatory under Ballot Measure 11. Moreover, they pointed to O'Neal's near-perfect record on appeal and argued that recall over a disputed verdict set a dangerous precedent for judicial independence. O'Neal is up for re-election next year. The special election, paid by the state since the judge is a state official, was expected to cost taxpayers about $30,000. O'Neal suggested the recall was masterminded by Ed Snook -- co-owner of a right-wing newspaper new to Grants Pass -- with help from the right-wing Josephine County Taxpayers Association, whose members have tangled with the judge before. Snook has been linked to at least five recall attempts across the state, O'Neal said. To date, none has succeeded. Snook's voice mail was full and he could not be reached for comment. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA