It’s not common for a judicial race to be nasty and negative, but Republican Rita Nuñez Neumann has been on the attack ever since she was picked by her party to take on District Judge Fernando Macias, a Democrat, in the Division 8 race.
Most attorneys and judges interpret a clause in the state’s Code of Judicial Conduct to prohibit judicial candidates from negative campaigning. That clause states that candidates “shall maintain the dignity appropriate to judicial office, act in a manner consistent with the impartiality, integrity and independence of the judiciary and shall encourage members of the candidate’s family to adhere to the same standards of political conduct in support of the candidate.”
Neumann, it appears, interprets that differently.
At Wednesday’s League of Women Voters forum in
“I am a jurist. My opponent, my esteemed colleague, is not a jurist,” Neumann said. “He is a politician.”
Though the code of conduct does allow candidates to respond to negative attacks, as long as they don’t discuss particular cases, Macias did not directly address Newmann’s comments.
It wasn’t the first time she’s attacked him. During her interview several weeks ago with a judicial selection committee that was considering candidates for another district judgeship, Neumann said Macias, during their interview with the editorial board of the Las Cruces Sun-News, said he would make a better judge because men command more respect from teens. The position is in the children’s court.
Though she didn’t call Macias sexist, Neumann continued by saying she is not sexist and explaining why she didn’t agree with the statement she claimed Macias made.
In an interview, Macias said Neumann mischaracterized his comments.
It was Neumann, Macias said, who told the newspaper’s board she would make a better judge because women are more compassionate toward children. Macias told me he disagrees, saying he has raised four daughters and has learned a great deal of compassion.
Macias said he told the newspaper board that he doesn’t see sex as an issue in the race but, “if you’re going to make that argument that a woman is more compassionate, then certainly the argument can be made that what’s missing form the lives of 85 percent of these kids is an involved father.”
Macias said you could also make the argument that, since he is bilingual, that might command respect from Hispanic families, who unfortunately make up a disproportionate number of those who come before the children’s court.
But Macias said his comments were only intended to respond to those made by Neumann and reveal his belief that none of that should be an issue. He said voters should elect the candidate they believe is most qualified and has the best vision to bring reform to the system.
It’s true, he said, that he has been a politician. Macias is a former state senator and county commissioner. But he said that experience will help him lead a reform of the child welfare system and lobby for additional funding.
“You can be a good person. You can be well-intentioned, but people want leadership,” Macias said.
Neumann originally agreed to an in-person interview with me, but her husband, who is also her campaign manager, called to cancel. He said she would call sometime Wednesday or Thursday to do a phone interview, but she did not.