Please vote in the Primary
To the Editor:
As former justices of the North Carolina Supreme Court, we’re writing with an urgent message. Please plan on voting in the Primary Election on Tuesday, March 3, by either early voting or on Election Day. There is one critically important primary race for judge on the North Carolina Court of Appeals for Seat 3. We have all enthusiastically endorsed Attorney James Whalen for this seat and we encourage you to join us in our support for him.
This past year, James was part of the legal team that defended Justice Allison Riggs’s win for her seat on the Supreme Court and stopped a dangerous attempt to overturn a free and fair election. With a challenging General Election coming up in November, it is critical that we put forward candidates who have the necessary experience and skills to win the election and do the critical work of a judge on our state’s second highest court. James has that experience including arguing cases at the appellate level.
It is necessary that our judicial candidates speak candidly about their values and their commitment to protect our fundamental rights, like the constitutional right to vote and the right to personal healthcare decisions and bodily autonomy. James is firmly committed to the Rule of Law and the constitutional limitations put on government to protect individual rights.
Our appellate court candidates must be willing to campaign in a way that makes real for people how our courts affect their lives. James is doing that across the state, talking to citizens about the challenges our state faces. James is clear about the dangers of partisanship in a judiciary that is sworn to independence and upholding the constitution.
We have seen numerous decisions coming down from the courts of our state that have given the General Assembly virtually unlimited ability to enact laws damaging our constitutional requirement for separation of powers; damaging public education funding; allowing extreme partisan gerrymandering, depriving citizens of a real voice in electing representatives; and damaging the election process in multiple ways including attempting to hinder absentee voting by our military service members.
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Please study the list of current and former elected officials, from across the state, who have joined us in endorsing James Whalen for the N.C. Court of Appeals. Support the next generation of candidates for the judiciary in North Carolina. James is running a winning campaign. Please tell your friends and family and vote for James in the upcoming Democratic Primary for Court of Appeals seat 3.
Chief Justice Henry Frye and Shirley Frye
Chief Justice Burley Mitchell
Former Congressman and Justice GK Butterfield
Justice Bob Orr
Justice Patricia Timmons-Goodson
