Northam's independence broke stalemate over judges

The junior senator from Norfolk could not have imagined as he campaigned for election last fall that he would spend his first year in office trying to mediate a deal on judicial appointments.

It's an odd assignment for a pediatric neurologist, yet Sen. Ralph Northam committed himself to the task with good nature and tenacity.

Northam deserves much of the credit for a tentative deal reached last week that restores a measure of order and efficiency to Norfolk's highest court. The plan allows Gov. Tim Kaine to appoint three circuit court judges to fill vacancies in Norfolk. In return, Northam promises to support a Republican-favored candidate for the bench in Virginia Beach next January.

For his efforts, Northam is likely to be singed by some fellow Democrats angry that he has broken with Norfolk's senior senator, Yvonne Miller.

Miller has been quarreling with Republicans for months over the Beach vacancy, which she wants to fill with her own candidate. Republicans retaliated by holding the Norfolk seats hostage, leaving its judicial chambers badly short-staffed.

By putting party politics aside, Northam put the interests of Norfolk first. The city's high court carries the heaviest felony caseload in the state. The city could not make do indefinitely with a third of its judgeships empty.

The tentative deal would fill the court's depleted ranks with Norfolk Commonwealth's Attorney Jack Doyle, Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court Judge Jerrauld Jones and General District Court Judge Louis Sherman. As a bonus, it positions Virginia Beach City Attorney Les Lilley, who is highly regarded in legal and professional circles, to take the open seat on the Beach circuit bench. In his two decades as the city's general counsel, Lilley has steered clear of party politics.

The decision by Sen. Ken Stolle and other Republican lawmakers to hold up all three Norfolk seats as leverage in their Beach battle was a hard-ball tactic they may regret if Democrats take control of the House of Delegates. If they end up with majorities in both chambers of the legislature, Democrats will have reason to retaliate.

But Miller's refusal to negotiate, while the city's courts were hamstrung, was a losing hand. She claimed veto power over Virginia Beach appointments, yet she represents just three precincts in Virginia Beach. Even then she refused to compromise with Republicans, who control the House. Miller dug herself into a hole from which she could not escape. Northam, his vision unencumbered by old grudges, has found a way out of this mess. Whether she realizes it or not, he has done her a favor.

He has, in fact, done all of Norfolk a favor. He may take some heat for his actions, but he's getting the job done, and that's what he was elected to do.