We have witnessed this kind of funny business before in legislative races, but seldom have we seen a Georgia judge bequeath his place on the bench to his offspring – in this case, a daughter.
Last Monday, Superior Court Judge James R. Osborne qualified for another four-year term on the Paulding County circuit. Not unusual. Osborne was appointed to the post in 2005 by then-Gov. Sonny Perdue.
But on Friday, the judge was joined by a single rival: Elizabeth Osborne Williams, a real estate lawyer working out of the Talley, Richardson and Cable law firm – of which Judge Osborne was a founding partner.
Her father is the judge. Mrs. Williams makes her parentage clear here.
While we’re willing to entertain more, two possibilities are likely: First, some father-daughter relationship issues are about to get a serious airing in this contest.
The other possibility is that Judge Osborne intends to retire by serving out his current term but withdrawing his candidacy for re-election – which would make his daughter the sole candidate in the non-partisan contest to replace him.
You can place your own bet on which is more likely.
By the way, the “Richardson” in the above law firm belongs to former House speaker Glenn Richardson.
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