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Nunley supporters take write-in case for judge to voters By DANI DODGE Mail Tribune A handful of concerned citizens are taking "Wanted" posters from house to house in Jackson County. The notorious face on the flier: Walter Nunley. And this little posse wants him for its next judge. They don't care that the state has disqualified the 82-year-old from running for Circuit Court judge because of his age. "I've known him for, oh, 40 years and he's just been a regular guy regardless of the position," said Steve Piter, a 74-year-old retired food salesman. "He was a district attorney and in law practice and he always had time for the little guy." The Shady Cove Nunley supporter passed out fliers last weekend in Medford with a dozen or so volunteers and plans on possibly doing it again this weekend. They are advocating Nunley as a write-in candidate. Nunley, who served as Jackson County's district attorney in the 1950s, filed the Circuit Court judge position 8 on the May 21 ballot. But under the Oregon Constitution, judges are required to retire at 75. Since Nunley is seven years older than that, the secretary of state disqualified him as a candidate. Nunley asked the state Supreme Court to reverse the decision, but his petition was dismissed without comment. Bill Purdy and Joe Charter are the official candidates in the race. Nunley insists he offers something different: a view of the law based on Judeo-Christian beliefs and the Declaration of Independence. And, as he says in his mock "Wanted" poster that passes as a campaign flier: "Legislation and public policy cannot be separated from moral standards." Nunley said he's spent about $2,000 on his write-in campaign, taking out ads and making fliers and posters. Jackson County Clerk Kathy Beckett said the elections office doesn't usually count write-in candidates because oftentimes they are unelectable creatures like Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck. In this election, though, election workers will be watching for how many ballots include Nunley's name, and if it appears to be a large number they will be counted separately. "We don't do it unless he has a chance of winning," Beckett said. Nunley doesn't expect to win, but he wouldn't mind getting himself into second place and forcing a run-off in November. He said he's got a wider breadth of experience than either Purdy or Charter. "I would rather see Purdy on the bench of the two of them, but frankly I don't think either one is qualified to be judge," Nunley said. "I've got more experience than both of them put together." His supporters say they are motivated by friendship, Nunley's Christian-based legal philosophy, and problems they perceive in the process of selecting judges. Frank d'Entremont, 85, of Ashland, said he doesn't even know the two other candidates, but he knows Nunley. "It goes back to the '50s when I was with the sheriff's department and he was the district attorney," d'Entremont said. "We worked together on a number of cases and he always struck me as an honorable individual. "And age is relative - some people are old at 40 and some people are young at 90 - I don't think that should have anything to do with his way of handling the job. " 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.