Steinmetz backs Crooks for high court

Journal Madison Bureau

Madison Justice Donald Steinmetz threw his support Wednesday to Judge N. Patrick Crooks in the race for state Supreme Court, making him the fifth justice on the high court to take sides in a hotly contested race.

With Steinmetz in the fray, the endorsement wars between Crooks and Judge Ann Walsh Bradley have risen to new heights. It's rare for the justices to become so involved, and it reveals the intensity of the race.

Meanwhile, Gov. Tommy G. Thompson confirmed he's staying on the sidelines in Tuesday's state Supreme Court election in which his wife has endorsed Bradley.

"My wife is adamantly supporting Judge Bradley; I'm staying the hell out," Thompson told reporters Wednesday.

"That's your decision, not hers?" a reporter asked.

"It certainly is," the governor replied.

Crooks, a Brown County circuit judge, and Bradley, a Marathon County circuit judge, are running in the election Tuesday to succeed retiring Chief Justice Nathan S. Heffernan. Justices' Endorsements

In a rare move, Heffernan formally endorsed Bradley early in the campaign. Even more unusual, the Crooks campaign announced last Friday that Justice Roland Day, the next chief justice, was endorsing Crooks. Now Steinmetz formally has endorsed Crooks as well.

Besides Heffernan, Bradley has the support of Justices William Bablitch and Janine Geske, although they have not formally endorsed her. Bablitch has been advising Bradley on the race, and Geske contributed $400 to her campaign.

That leaves only Justices Shirley Abrahamson and Jon Wilcox on the sidelines.

With five justices involved in the campaign, it could bode ill for a conservative-leaning court that has experienced tension in the past.

In endorsing Crooks, Steinmetz said the addition of Crooks would make for a more collegial court.

"I am convinced that he will be an addition to the collegiality on this court, and that he will act in an impartial manner with no pre-existing agenda," Steinmetz said.

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