I was very much surprised Richard Redfern lost. When the candidates qualified, I would have given Redfern the edge in being elected Chancery Judge. He is well-known and is a very likeable guy. I've talked to him before and found him to be a very gracious person. So why did he lose?
Here are the reasons I believe he lost. I've talked to a lot of people and here is what I found:
1. The fact he misrepresented Dan Fairly's record. He was cited by some State Supreme Court committee for that when he stated Fairly was never a judge (He was judge pro-tem for the city of Flowood). Earlier, he was admonished for using "Judge" preceding his name, letting voters think he was the incumbent.
2. A few long-time Rankin Countians remembered he ran as a REPUBLICAN for Justice Court in 2003. He was appointed as Justice Court Judge and later narrowly defeated Charles Tillman for the post. That special election was nonpartisan. So it was going to be interesting if he was going to run as a Democrat in 2003. After all, he was once chairman of the Rankin County Democratic Party in 1996 (He graciously invited me to the state Democratic convention as his guest.). He ran for DA in 1991 as a Democrat, losing by over a hundred votes to John Kitchens. Imagine the shock of a lot of Democrats when he ran as a Republican in 2003. In my opinion, I think he would have been elected if he had run as a Democrat. A lot of Democrats are angry over party-switchers and may have taken it out on Redfern at the polls.
3. It was "time for a change." Richard Redfern has been in politics in Rankin County for years. Dan Fairly was the "new kid on the block." People were willing to give Fairly the benefit of the doubt.
4. Dan Fairly wisely appeared on talk radio. In a low-profile race such as Chancery Judge, that was one way to get the message out. On at least three occaisions, Fairly appeared on WJNT's "Kim Wade Show", which airs Monday through Friday 5-6PM. Conservatives listen to that show and is the leading drive-by talk show in the area. Fairly came off as a staunch conservative whom conservatives could easily vote for. Redfern did advertise on WJNT, but did not appear on the show (at least when I listened to it, which is every day except Wednesday).
5. Fairly was a formidable opponent. He was well-funded and had plenty of advertising. I have at least four mailouts he sent out.
6. One of Redfern's fliers it stated the churches Fairly and Redfern went to--Redfern is a Baptist and Fairly a Presbyterian. This is not as innocuous as it seems. A few people felt it was to get fellow Baptists to vote for Redfern. What was the purpose of bringing out the denominations of the two candidates?
This is not to knock Richard Redfern. I believe he would have been a good judge. He is fair and honest. And as a person, I happen to like him. But this was not his year.
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10 comments:
I met Richard in the sixth grade and got to know him very well. His father is an old time John Stennis type Democrat so Richard grew up thinking in that way. Richard knew that his party was drifting left but he saw it as his job to save it. It did not work so he changed to Republican. Just before the run off election I did some phone calls for Richard and talked to several people who did remember him as a Democrat which hurt him.
I agree with you about the Kim Wade Show. Richard is a fair and logical judge but he is a poor speaker. He just does not have the voice for radio. He probably thought it would not make him look good to go on. Perhaps he should have tried any way.
There were several dirty tricks in that race. Dan Fairely said over and over and over and over that he is a Christian. He said it enough that it caused the impression that Richard is not. He also used the court to not alow a Richland City Judge and Justice Court Juge call himself a judge. I personally asked Richard what a judge pro-tem is and he said it is just an honorary thing his brother gave him. I took Richard at his word.
One thing we agree on is that Richard is a good judge but bad politician. I am hurt that Dan Fairly was elected but now that he is I am willing to give him four years.
Redfern is a bigot also. He awarded custody of a 6 year old boy to his convicted drug dealing father whom the child had NEVER lived with in his life, and who had never paid one penny of support for the child all because the mother is Mormon.
Does the name Sharon Thibodaux ring a bell? I believe this woman was Redfern’s campaign manager? She was also the attorney for the drug dealer.
There is no place for a Judge like this in America, why should Mississippi be any different?
I truly hope that Richard Redfern will considering running against Judge Dan Fairly next term. As Judge Fairly's record shows, he is adamantly against women. Time and again his judgements favor men in divorce and child custody hearings. He has caused MUCH hardship and heartache by not allowing enforcement of child support payments to mothers while totally ignoring hard evidence and chosing to allow pure hearsay from men. He is biased and needs to be removed from the bench next election!
I unfortunately ended up being heard by Dan Fairly. We had hoped for Grant. Fairly talked to attys and decided to order other party alcohol therapy and if we insisted on being heard, he wouldn't do that. My atty said Fairly had to go to a dinner in his honor and didn't want to come back. I insisted, beccause we santed guardianship. When he got back, he was furious. He called me nosy and dismissed case, even though he had a mountain of incidences of the other party. WOW, OUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK, a child at risk. I waited 2 1/2 years and paid $5000 for this. I have been in Redfern's court. He is a very good judge. He listens and is responsible for his position. Fairly reminds me of the spoiled kid with ebbing self esteem and has to pick on others to feel better about himself. Please, others let us know of your experiences with him.
1000 fine and two days in jail , no justice, just good ol' boy favoritism
If you're a good ol boy you'll get all the justice you want , if he doesn't know you your getting the maximum sentence.
Kangaroo court
Kangaroo court
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