Staff Report
HUNTSVILLE, Alabama — A Republican Party committee will meet next Saturday in a Montgomery hotel, selecting Madison County’s next district judge fromamong at least five candidates.
The winner of the GOP runoff, Chris Messervy, was disqualified from the ballot in May by the same committee. No Democrat is on the ballot in November, paving a path to the bench for whomever the GOP committee picks.
T.J.. Maloney, executive director of the Alabama Republican Party, said Thursday they had received applications from attorneys Jonathan Pippin, Robert Rodgers and Patrick Tuten.
Attorney Linda Coats, who lost the runoff to Messervy, also applied. So did Don Rizzardi, the Madison County Assistant District Attorney who finished third behind Coats and Messervy in the Republican primary in March.
The deadline for applications is 5 p.m. today.
The application that candidates have to submit includes both questions about their legal experience and philosophy and a close look at their party politics.
The questions for Madison County’s next district judge inquire as to when the candidate became affiliated with the Republican Party, why they joined the GOP, and what level of party involvement they’ve maintained in the last five years.
