Municipal Judge seat open in Ashland

There will be a new municipal judge in Ashland for the first time in 28 years with Allen Drescher announcing his retirement earlier this year.

This leaves the door to the chambers open to either Joe Charter, Mike Jewett or Pamela Burkholder Turner; all three are running for the elected position of presiding over Ashland's local court system.

The municipal judge is in charge of overseeing the operations of the local court, as well as presiding over whatever cases come before the court. Felonies in Ashland go to the county court but misdemeanors and traffic violations are heard by the municipal judge.

Joe Charter, a Jackson County justice of the peace who also presides over the traffic court in Central Point, has the most experience behind a bench of the three candidates. He was running for a circuit court judgeship earlier in the election season but instead decided to pursue the position in Ashland.

"I have the experience of justice court," he said. "What municipal court does is a lot of traffic violations."

He has lived in Ashland for five years and has had his own private law practice for 20, describing it as "a very general civil practice."

Charter said he wants to work in the Ashland court because it will give him an opportunity to work with young people.

"It gives you a chance to take a roll in talking to young people about how to make better choices," he said. The municipal court "could be a bump in the road or the first in a long line of offenses."

Because he is already a county employee with the justice court, Charter said electing him would amount to a savings for the taxpayer because he already has health benefits through his other job.

Charter is active in community theater, having participated in four plays at Camelot Theater in Talent. He is currently playing William Shakespeare in the playhouses production of "The Beard of Avon." He has a 16-year-old daughter. His domestic partner is Livia Genise, the executive director of the Camelot Theater in Talent.

When not practicing the law, he says he enjoys biking, hiking and rafting.

Mike Jewett, a local lawyer in private practice, is also running for the municipal judge position.

Born in Ashland and raised in Medford, he graduated from what is now Southern Oregon University with a degree in chemistry. After serving in the military, he received his law degree from Lewis and Clarke Law School. He has lived in Ashland 28 years.

He is interested in becoming a judge in Ashland because he wants to serve the public.

"It sounds corny but I like public service," he said. "The seat came open and I said to myself I think I can do some good."

Like Charter, he said being a judge in Ashland is an opportunity to make a difference is young people's lives.

"That's where a lot of kids who get in trouble for the first time end up," he said, noting that being a municipal judge in Ashland is like "being a social worker with the power of probation."

Jewett said there are better ways to teach some offenders valuable life lessons than locking them up in jail.

"I don't think it's good for the person or society," he said. "It's not always effective and it's not dollar efficient."

He is the only candidate lacking experience as a judge but still believes he is most qualified overall.

"I'm confident I've spent more time in the court room than either of [my opponents]," he said.

Jewett once took a case to the United States Supreme Court concerning the Bureau of Land Management spraying herbicides on public lands. Jewett argued against the practice and the high court decided not to hear the case, effectively upholding Jewett's argument.

Jewett plays the banjo, paints and "fools around with computers."

He added, "I love this town and would be proud to be its judge."

Pam Burkholder Turner has been a back-up judge to Allen Drescher in the Ashland Municipal Court for 19 years. Drescher has endorsed her for the position he will soon vacate.

"It's a significant endorsement because Allen knows what kind of job I've done and he believes I will keep doing it," she said. "I was personally honored by it."

Burkholder Turner said being a judge in Ashland means being an educator. Like her opponents, she said the job requires working effectively with Ashland's younger population.

"The job is to treat people with respect, make sure they understand why they are there and what the process is and what they are going to need to do," she said. "It takes time and genuine interest."

She would like to increase the night court program with the Ashland Municipal Court.

"I would like to do it twice a month," she said of the program that now is offered only once a month. She has performed more than 400 marriages in Jackson County during her tenure as a local judge.

Burkholder Turner doesn't have her own law practice but her husband, Ashland Attorney Gary Turner, does. She said she often helps him in an informal capacity.

"I don't have a law practice that will compete for my time," she said.

She has a daughter who graduated from Ashland High School in 2002, is a member of the Lithia Springs Rotary group and said she enjoys gardening, exercise and the "company of friends" when not working.

Staff writer Robert Plain can be reached at 482-3456 x. 226 or bplain@dailytidings.com