Columnist Jeff German: Race is on for chief judge post

Friday, Oct. 8, 2004 | 11:07 a.m.

Being chief judge in District Court, with all of its administrative headaches, traditionally hasn't been a popular job.

The 33 district judges usually persuade one of their own to assume the duties and then officially elect the sacrificial lamb by unanimous ballot.

But this time there's a real race. District Judges Stewart Bell and Kathy Hardcastle both are seeking the position, and they've been mounting a spirited campaign behind the scenes at the courthouse.

Hardcastle was elected chief judge in May to finish the term of former District Judge Michael Douglas, who was appointed to the Nevada Supreme Court. She says she wants a full two-year term so that she can oversee the installation of the new case management software system.

Bell says he has jumped into the race at the request of some of his fellow jurists, which is a good indication that not everyone is happy with the way Hardcastle is running the show.

Bell, who learned something about running things as district attorney for eight years, has given himself a big advantage in the race.

"I intend to do a full workload and take the administrative responsibility on top of it," he says.

Are you kidding? What could be more pleasing to the ears of his judicial peers?

Hardcastle, as with some of her predecessors, has taken a considerably lighter caseload during her brief tenure as chief judge so that she can handle the administrative responsibilities.

This has forced some of her colleagues to reluctantly pick up the slack in court.

But Bell may have a tough time fulfilling this campaign promise.

The next chief judge will have to deal next year with the Nevada Legislature and the move to the troubled Regional Justice Center, which together should cause more than their share of stress.

If Bell remains true to his word, however, it'll lighten the load for others and maybe even save the taxpayers a few bucks -- if he wins.

Next door in Justice Court there's been an administrative shakeup.

Marguerite Creel, the court's manipulative administrator who created serious morale problems among employees, has been relieved of her duties.

County Manager Thom Reilly, who was not a Creel fan, put her on paid administrative leave last Friday for a couple of weeks while officials find her another county job, hopefully one with less responsibility.

The action was taken at the request of the justices of the peace, who finally figured out that Creel wasn't looking after their best interests.

Her departure follows the July resignation of Justice of the Peace Tony Abbatangelo as chief judge.

Abbatangelo stepped down during the furor Creel and the justices created when they tried to unlawfully void a collective bargaining agreement between the county and the court's employees.

Creel not only lost the respect of her workers, but also her colleagues at other courthouse agencies. Her reputation for playing off the justices against each other also contributed to her demise.

Now that she's gone, there's hope that the turmoil will end in Justice Court.