KMXT 100.1 FM Public Radio in Kodiak, Alaska
Four men, including two from Kodiak, are seeking appointment to the Superior Court judgeship here. The advancement of Joel Bolger to the Alaska Court of Appeals earlier this year created the vacancy.
They are Steve Cole, who is currently the Kodiak court magistrate; Stephen Wallace, the current Kodiak District Attorney; Robert Owens, an assistant municipal attorney in Anchorage; and Mark Osterman, who is in private practice in Kenai.
Cole is 55 years old, and has lived in Alaska for 34 years. Osterman is 51 and been a resident in the state for 10 years. Owens is 54 and been in Alaska 26 years and Wallace is 50, and lived in the state 26 years.
The Alaska Bar Association has already rated the four applicants, with Wallace scoring 4-point-2 on a scale of one to five. Cole and Owens were rated at 4-point-1. Osterman had a rating of 2-point-1.
The Alaska Judicial Council is seeking public comment on the applicants’ qualifications. They can be made at the council’s web site .
The council will interview all four applicants and then hold a public hearing to take comments before selecting two or more to be advanced to Governor Sarah Palin, who will then have 45 days to make an appointment.
