Electorate
People Supporting our campaign

Former Appellate Judges:

I would like to first recognize a special category of private endorsements that should matter to all voters. These being the endorsement of former appellate judges. After all, those former judges who are now in private practice and are not serving as judges are free to comment on who they support in this race. I am pleased that the following former appellate judges support my re-election campaign:

Chief Justice I. Beverly Lake, Jr.-- now retired. Chief Justice Lake had a long career in public service serving as an Assistant Attorney General, as a member of the Senate for the State of North Carolina, as a Superior Court Judge before being elected to the North Carolina Supreme Court.

Chief Justice Burley Mitchell- now retired but of counsel to Womble, Carlyle, Sandridge & Rice, the  largest law firm in the state also had a distinguished career of public service before retiring. He served as the District Attorney for Wake County, Director of the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation prior to taking judicial office.



Chief Justice James G. Exum, now retired was briefly a member of the North Carolina House of Representatives before serving as a state Superior Court judge. Exum served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court from 1974 to 1986 and as Chief Justice from late 1986 to January 1, 1995. He has also been an instructor at the law schools of both the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Duke University. In 2006 Exum joined the faculty of Elon University's new law school as Distinguished Jurist in Residence while he continues to practice at the law firm Smith Moore LLP.

Chief Judge Sidney Eagles, retired but of counsel to Smith, Moore LLP, one of the larger firms in North Carolina. Chief Judge Eagles served on the North Carolina Court of Appeals for 21 years and was the court's Chief Judge at time of retirement. He also had prior public service with the North Carolina Attorney General's Office and private practice before going on the bench.

Chief Judge Gerald Arnold, now retired from the court, but the President of Lawyer's Mutual Liability Insurance Co., Chief Judge Arnold also has had a distinguished legal career.

Judge Edward Greene, now of counsel to Wyrick, Robbins, Yates and Ponton, LLP, another excellent private law firm, was formerly a District Court Judge in Harnett County before serving on the Court of Appeals.

Judge Albert Thomas, now retired had 20 years as a District Court Judge in Wilson before serving for 2 years on the Court of Appeals. Judge Thomas is in private practice with a family law firm.

Of all the people who endorse my re-election those who have worked on the appellate bench best understand the unique qualifications that make up a good appellate judge. They recognize that experience counts, that stability on the court is important, that integrity, respect for precedent and scholarly, intellectual rigor are important attributes of a good appellate judge. I am gratified that they see those qualities in me and will endeavor to continue to earn their respect while seeking re-election.

At a later time I will add a list of those in public service who also endorse my re-election, at this time however, I only call to the prospective supporter's attention the endorsements I have obtained from former appellate judges. There are several other retired appellate judges, however, many of them are still hearing cases as "Emergency Judges" and thus are precluded from making any endorsement due to the Code of Judicial Conduct.


Others Supporting My Campaign:

Numerous private individuals and public officials support my re-election efforts. I cannot at this time list all who have achieved prominence in their respective fields nor those who hold public office. They are simply too numerous to catalogue in this manner. A better indicator would be my campaign reports which can be found on the North Carolina Board of Elections web site (www.ncboe.com) There are not only the organizational donors who can provide financial assistance during this "seed money" phase, but also the individual donors, totaling at least 350 separate individuals, all registered North Carolina voters will be reported.