Ars Política Election 2020 Endorsements: State Supreme Court Justices
Welcome back to another week of Ars Política election endorsements! Last week, all of our three endorsed candidates won their respective elections (read about them here) so we are feeling pretty good this week.
As a recap:
Ars Poetica is an intersectional language arts agency. Until March 2020, our specialty was elevating human connection through poetry and performance art at events around the world. Now, while still ready to perform at evens when it’s safe, we focus on using the power of words to cultivate empathy across these mediums: activism, content creation, digital events and communications, political campaigns, intersectional partnerships and development, and ethical brand building.
We have come to the conclusion that the United States has an opportunity, potentially our last opportunity, to redirect the course of our history and embark on a journey toward liberty and justice for all. That’s why we are launching the Ars Política project. Our mission with this project is to continue to fulfill the overall Ars Poetica mission of using language arts to elevate human experience, but with a heightened focus on creating, supporting, and amplifying activist and political work leading up to the 2020 election, and ensuring a peaceful transition into a new era in the United States of America.
Our guiding principles are:
Resilience - in our environment, our healthcare, our movements
Justice - in our governance, our communities, our relationships. Racial, reproductive,
Equilibrium - of resources, energy, and capital
Integration - of industries, communities, and causes
Reconciliation - of our past, between citizens and civil servants, within ourselves
While deeply researched and cross-referenced, the information here has been collated by two artists who, though intelligent and with the best intent, are not academics or political scientists of a professional caliber. In creating these endorsements, we discovered a pandora’s box of information about the US political systems which was overwhelming to say the least. None of these individuals, issues, or organizations have sponsored or condoned this work in any way; We are a completely independent for-profit organization simply using the resources we have to try to educate ourselves and our community about the gravity of this political situation, and the seemingly small choices we all must make to stop the bleeding as a society, and start to heal and evolve into something much better than our founding fathers ever could have planned.
Now let’s look at these judges!
State Supreme Court Justice Endorsements
Unlike the US Supreme Court, which is appointed by the (god help us) President, we actually get to vote for the Justices that rule the highest courts of our states. These endorsements are a bit more nuanced than many others, because many judges try to avoid being overtly partisan, political or activist to maintain an appearance of fairness in their courts. Note the term “appearance” here.
Some states have nonpartisan election of justices, and others allow official partisan alignment. But even a “nonpartisan” judge has a huge amount of power to interpret and apply the law as they see fit, which shapes all of our lives, especially those forced to appear before a judge with only an overworked Public Defender on their side.
In Mississippi: Kenny Griffis (Incumbent) vs Latrice Westbrooks
Ars Poetica endorses: Latrice Westbrooks
Kenny Griffis is a self-described “Constitutional Conservative.” Generally what that means is that he will err on the side of traditional beliefs and older precedents which could mean things like longer sentences for nonviolent crimes and less modern stances on civil liberties. Latrice, on the other hand, has almost as many years of judicial experience as the incumbent, and if elected would become the 4th woman, and 4th Black person, to ever sit on the Mississippi Supreme Court. She has the support of many progressive lawmakers in the state, and the competition is very close.
“constitutional”
must evolve as so do we --
founders are not gods
In North Carolina: Cheri Beasly (Incumbent, D) vs Paul Newby (R)
Ars Poetica endorses: Cheri Beasly
Newby is an elderly Republican who has gone on record denigrating his fellow judges by calling them “AOC people.” Beasly was appointed to this role in 2019 and is now seeking reelection, and has been endorsed by literally everyone from the police to Doug Jones and Joe Biden. Throughout COVID, she has tirelessly worked to provide legal resources and support to the state to keep constituents safe, including emergency directives to avoid unlawful evictions and unhealthy environments.
to judge is not passive
this woman, the embodiment
of active justice
In Texas: Jane Bland (Incumbent, R) vs Kathy Cheng (D)
Ars Poetica endorses: Kathy Cheng
Bland was appointed to this seat after losing her own election in Houston in 2018. This court is exceedingly white, male, and Republican, and is basically begging to have a wider diversity of lived experience represented. Cheng says her experience as an immigrant, a woman, and a person of color equips her to see the world — and where the law fits into it — with more nuance and depth, and we couldn’t agree more.
20/20 sight
can’t be seen in black and white --
the law is in color
Stay tuned for our next round of endorsements, and don’t forget to register to vote! Research your state’s rules on mail-in voting, because many states already have hindrances in place which can suppress your voice.
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