In choosing judges, Parnell is a man's man

Since taking office a year ago, Gov. Sean Parnell has made six judicial appointments. And they've all been white men, mostly middle aged, even though a number of qualified women candidates have been put forward by the Alaska Judicial Council.

That's a record that continues an ongoing decline in recent years in the number of women being appointed to all levels of Alaska judgeships.

Parnell had nothing to say about why he bypassed a number of qualified women and at least one minority candidate in favor of a more homogenous list. His press secretary, Sharon Leighow, offered to have us speak to Jason Hooley, the governor's director of boards and commissions. Leighow said Hooley helps review judicial applicants -- although board and commission appointments are unrelated to judicial appointments. While board and commission appointments and judicial appointments are both made by the governor, boards and commissions fall under the executive branch of state government and members serve at the pleasure of the governor, while judges are appointed to the judicial branch and are retained by election.

Leighow said in an e-mail on Monday the governor had been attending a memorial service for the airmen killed last week in the C-17 crash at Elmendorf Air Force Base and couldn't return a phone call. He didn't call Tuesday either, despite a renewed request, but no reason why he couldn't speak for himself was given.

Leighow did say via e-mail: "I am having trouble lining up an interview on judicial appointments. I would like to comment on the issue. The governor does not select appointees or discriminate against candidates based on their sex. Rather, appointments are made by examining experience, knowledge of the law, and the ability to support and defend the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of Alaska. There are female officials employed in the Office of the Governor, serving in the governor's cabinet, and serving on our many boards and commissions."

The Alaska Constitution dictates that when there's a vacancy on the bench, the governor shall appoint "one of two or more persons nominated by the judicial council," a constitutionally-established, seven-member group that vets applicants and forwards nominees to the governor. The Alaska Judicial Council evaluates candidates based on in-person interviews with the council, background and reference checks, writing samples, public comment, and the results of a poll of all active in-state members of the Alaska Bar Association.

Parnell has at least three more appointments to be made this year. One is due by mid-August, before the Aug. 24 primary, and critics are watching to see if he will keep up the white male trend.

This appointment, for a seat on the Anchorage District Court, must be made from a pool of two women and two men. Although all four are deemed equally qualified by the judicial council, one of the women -- 41-year-old Leslie Dickson, an assistant public advocate -- has received by far the highest scores in the Alaska Bar poll, although that's only one of the measures used to determine whether candidates are qualified.

But Parnell also has tended to pick judges with strong Christian leanings, and the other woman up for consideration, Pamela Scott Washington, 47, says in her biography that she is a women's leader at Faith Christian Community. An African-American, Washington also is a domestic violence prosecutor -- another social problem that Parnell has strongly embraced -- and has practiced almost exclusively in Anchorage District Court for the past six years.

The two male contenders are Daniel Cheyette, 39, an assistant attorney general with the Office of Special Prosecutions and Appeals, and Bruce Roberts, 54, an attorney with the Transportation Security Administration.