After years of Alabama judicial controversy, Bob Vance wants quiet leadership for the bench

Judge Bob Vance doesn't mind talking about the last time he ran for Alabama Supreme Court chief justice.

"This is a real echo of the race six years ago, and I intend to point that out," Vance said. "The concerns that got me into the race six years ago are the same concerns that got me in to this race."

The Democrat is facing Associate Chief Justice Tom Parker, a Republican jurist ready to wield Alabama's Supreme Court against issues such as same-sex marriage and abortion access.

More:Alabama Chief Justice candidate Tom Parker: 'I know what we need'

Parker is also a former aide and longtime ally of former Chief Justice Roy Moore, who Vance narrowly lost to in 2012.

But Vance said a Moore redux, amid decades of instability on the Alabama Supreme Court and state financial woes, is the last thing Alabamians need in 2018. No Alabama chief justice has completed a full term in more than 20 years. Moore twice pulled the judicial branch into national headlines and was twice removed from the bench, most recently for his combative stand against same-sex marriage legalization.

"I want to get in there and quietly do the job. I want to grapple with the problems within our courts," Vance said. "We don't worry about party politics. We don't worry about ideology. We don't worry about these wedge social issues. Because we can't really focus on our problems if we get hung up on these issues. I'm talking about the practicalities of the job and the importance of the job: making sure all the courts in Alabama are open and functioning as they need to."

Vance, 57, was appointed to the Jefferson County Circuit bench in 2002. His father, Robert Vance, was a U.S. Circuit judge assassinated in 1989 by a mail bomb. Walter Leroy Moody, convicted of Robert Vance's murder, was executed in Alabama this year.

More:Alabama set to execute 83-year-old for pipe bomb murders

He entered the 2012 race against Moore less than two months before Election Day, after the state Democratic party withdrew its nomination from candidate Harry Lyon. The campaign was "stripped down," but Vance came within four points of toppling the firebrand judge.

This time around, Vance has the added benefit of time. Vance has built a staff, developed a social media campaign and crisscrossed the state to speak to Democratic voters and reach across the aisle. Vance's moderate coalition was vital to his near-victory in 2012, particularly in suburban enclaves in the Birmingham and Huntsville areas, and among business-minded Republicans.

Vance's mantra of quiet leadership is "not sexy or glamorous," but neither is the work required to lead the state's judicial system, the candidate joked to Montgomery Democrats this week. Previous Alabama justices, Vance said, have misplaced focus to the detriment of Alabamians. 

More:State Democrats make their pitch to Montgomery Democrats at party meeting

For both Vance and Parker, adequate funding for Alabama's judicial branch is at the top of the to-do list. Budget cuts have significantly squeezed courts and clerks offices across the state, leading to job cuts and closures. 

"The chief justice has to be the tip of the spear in dealing with that," Vance said. "When we don't have the resources that we need, we get jury weeks canceled. We get things pushed back. Cases get delayed. People don't get the comfort of that closure. It effects a lot of people when courts aren't functioning as they need to be."

Vance is one of the few statewide Democratic candidates to consistently outraise their Republican opponent ahead of the midterm elections, a factor he contributed to "broad support" across the state.

"The numbers, the dollars, I appreciate that," Vance said. "But what's most heartening to me is the number of folks who have given to us. ... I have gotten very good response from Democrats, Republicans and independents. It's nice when you're getting support from the business community and labor unions. That shows we're getting the support across the political spectrum."

Supporters this summer funneled cash to Vance, who raised more than $200,000 in August to Parker's $3,900. In September, some 880 separate contributors gave Vance $178,000, with his biggest contributions coming from the Alabama Realtors' political action committee and a partner in a Los Angeles-based law firm. Vance's campaign says, overall, they've counted more than 4,400 individual contributions.

More:Alabama Republicans extend cash advantages in state races

In a finance report filed Monday, the campaign reported more than $150,000 in cash contributions between Oct. 1 and Oct. 12.

More:GOP, Democrats split fundraising leads in six statewide races in early October

With nearly $1 million contributed over the course of the campaign, Vance is spending at a significant clip, as well: The campaign this month paid $550,000 to Joe Trippi, the national Democratic strategist who helped guide Doug Jones' successful campaign for U.S. Senate last December.

Enthusiasm is high, Vance said, at Democratic events across the state, and Jones' candidacy represented a "reasonable" choice Alabama voters could feel comfortable voting for. In today's political climate, Vance believes voter crave politicians who will "quietly and professionally" get the job done.

 More:Alabama set to execute 83-year-old for pipe bomb murders

"I think we're at the point where a lot of people are getting turned off by divisive politics, of just throwing red meat out there to get folks lathered up," Vance said. "I am trying to talk to people in the middle who are looking for a chief justice who will stay off the front pages and, instead, quietly deal with the problems we've got."

About Bob Vance

Name: Bob Vance

Age: 57

Profession: Jefferson County Circuit Judge

Family: Married with four kids

Education: Undergraduate degree from Princeton University, law degree from the University of Virginia

Party: Democrat

Public offices held: Appointed as Jefferson County Circuit Judge in 2002, re-elected in 2004, 2010 and 2016