A conservative, white Democrat from Jefferson County (which was 97 percent white in the 2010 Census) who spends his political capital very sparingly, Gov. Jay Nixon does not often give progressive or black Democrats much to cheer about. But he did deliver big time last week when he vetoed bills that would have dramatically impacted civil rights (House Bill 1219) and worker protections (Senate Bill 572) in Missouri.
As Nixon said, HB1219 would have made it “easier to discriminate against people with disabilities or cancer, or against women, older workers and minorities”; and SB572 would have weakened important workplace protections. With a Republican super-majority in both houses of the Missouri Legislature, there is little hope of progressive legislation reaching the governor’s desk, but Nixon once again has stopped very regressive public policy from being enacted. We applaud Gov. Nixon for these important vetoes.
However, more is expected of this governor – immediately.
Last week a second seat came open on the appellate bench in the Eastern District of Missouri. A panel of three judges already has been presented to Nixon, according to the Missouri Non-Partisan Court Plan process, to fill a previous opening on the same bench. That seat was vacated when Nixon appointed Judge George Draper, who had been on the Court of Appeals, to the Missouri Supreme Court. Draper’s appointment to the higher bench – only the second African American to ascend to the state’s highest court – left not one single black jurist on the Eastern District appellate court.
Nixon will fill two seats on the Court of Appeals for this half of the state in the coming months. The state’s largest appellate court currently has no African-American judges of a total 14 when all the judges are seated. In all fairness – a critical issue to raise when we are talking about administering justice – Nixon should appoint at least one African American to this court. Given that 12 percent of Missouri residents are African-American, and we know race does play a role in judgments, it is simply not acceptable for this appellate court to be so sorely lacking in racial diversity.
The panel of three jurists recommended to Nixon to fill the opening left by Draper includes an eminently qualified African American, Judge Angela T. Quigless. We can see why the commission recommended her for this appointment. She has 17 years of judicial experience in the circuit courts, with two stints as Special Missouri Supreme Court Judge. She practiced law for 10 years before being appointed to the bench. Quigless served as an assistant city counselor and prosecutor for the Circuit Attorney’s Office. Without reference to race, she is at least as qualified as any of the three candidates (all women) on this panel.
But we urge Nixon to address the issue of race in this matter. The last five appointments to this court were five white men. Nixon appointed the last two. During the governor’s tenure he has appointed over 40 judges, and only three were African-American. This governor became part of Missouri history when he appointed Judge Draper to the Missouri Supreme Court, but now he must again become a force for fairness in the Missouri courts and appoint Judge Quigless to the Missouri Court of Appeals.
