Missouri’s governor is encouraging you to vote to retain two Missouri Supreme Court judges that he appointed to the court last year.
Missouri Supreme Court judges Kelly Broniec and Ginger Gooch are up for retention on your November ballot. Governor Mike Parson tells 939 the Eagle that he’ll vote to retain both judges. He spoke to the Eagle on Wednesday:
“And I encourage the people of Missouri to retain both of those (judges). It’s kind of a little bit of unusual circumstances because of their retention time coming up and they honestly haven’t even served a year yet, compared to a lot of other judges,” Parson says.
Governor Parson appointed Judge Broniec to the Missouri Supreme Court in September 2023, and appointed Judge Gooch in October 2023. Judge Broniec previously served on the Missouri Court of Appeals and has served as a Montgomery County associate circuit judge and as Montgomery County prosecutor. Judge Gooch previously served on the Missouri Court of Appeals and previously worked in private law practice at Husch Blackwell in Springfield.
Some progressives in Missouri say they plan to vote against retaining Supreme Court judges Broniec and Gooch, due to a September Missouri Supreme Court decision on Amendment 3. Governor Parson is aware of the criticism of the two judges. The governor describes the abortion issue as an emotional one:
“Look at the end of the day, (Missouri) Supreme Court judges have to do their jobs and they have to make a decision. So in an instance like that, you know a lot of people won’t probably agree with what you did but a lot of people will and you’ve got to understand that’s what judges do,” says Parson.
The Missouri Supreme Court, in a 4-3 September decision, reversed a Cole County Circuit court decision that Amendment three should not appear on the November ballot because it failed to identify all statutory provisions the amendment would affect should it be approved. The court said in its 4-3 September decision that it was not about the subject matter of the initiative petition itself. Judges Broniec and Gooch dissented in the 4-3 decision, saying the proposed constitutional amendment failed to comply with state law by not including all statutory and constitutional provisions it would repeal if approved by Missouri voters.
Progressive activist Jess Piper of northwest Missouri, the executive director of Blue Missouri, tweeted Wednesday: “Vote “no” on Justices Broniec and Gooch. Send a message to the Missouri Supreme Court — we are watching your votes and we will vote accordingly.” Ms. Piper, who ran unsuccessfully for the Missouri House in 2022, has more than 161,000 followers on Twitter. A number of her followers responded to that tweet by saying they plan to vote against retaining the two judges.
As for Governor Parson, he’s encouraging you to vote to retain them. The governor describes both judges as very talented and says they came from humble beginnings:
“And I’m very proud of those picks and I didn’t make them lightly. I’m telling you, for the people of Missouri they (Missouri Supreme Court judges Broniec and Gooch) are good to be where they’re at for the future of our state,” Parson says.
A statewide committee of non-attorneys and lawyers who reviewed the performance of all of Missouri’s nonpartisan judges up for retention this year says Judges Broniec and Gooch “substantially meets overall judicial performance standards.”
Election day is Tuesday November 5.
