A retired Greenbrier County magistrate, who still serves in a senior-status capacity, violated ethics rules by endorsing a candidate for circuit judge, according to a filing by the state Judicial Investigation Commission.
Brenda Campbell, who retired last year after serving 19 years as a Greenbrier magistrate, has been publicly admonished by the commission for endorsing Fred Giggenbach for Greenbrier circuit judge. Giggenbach, an assistant Kanawha County prosecutor and Greenbrier County native, along with Lewisburg lawyer Jeffrey Rodgers, lost May's election to Jennifer Dent. Dent left her job as an assistant Greenbrier prosecutor, after the election, when Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin appointed her to fill the remainder of retired Judge Jim Rowe's term.
During Giggenbach's run for judge, he passed out brochures to potential voters that included, among others things, his work history - and a quote from Campbell, according to the judicial commission's filing.
"As a Greenbrier Assistant Prosecutor, Fred was fair, honest and hardworking. He was dedicated to the citizens of Greenbrier County and served them well," the quote in the brochure, which was attributed to "Brenda Campbell, retired Greenbrier County Magistrate" read, the filing states.
Giggenbach told commissioners that he contacted three people, including Campbell, and asked them to provide him quotes, describing his ethical and legal skills, to use in campaign brochures. According to the filing, Campbell never told Giggenbach she was a senior-status magistrate.
He thought she had completely retired until about a month after the brochures were printed, the filing states. At that time, Giggenbach called Campbell to ask permission before using her quote in other campaign materials.
Campbell allegedly said she would prefer not to, as she was being investigated then by the JIC for endorsing her former magistrate assistant's bid for Greenbrier magistrate in last May's election, according to the filing. She was publicly admonished for that, too.
The filing states that Giggenbach offered to cut Campbell's quote off the top of his brochures. She allegedly told him he didn't have to, but that the judicial commission might make him.
Campbell is also criticized in the filing of being uncooperative when disciplinary attorneys reached out to her about the endorsement of Giggenbach. Rules require judicial officers to cooperate and be candid and honest with disciplinary agencies.
Commissioners determined that formal discipline wasn't appropriate under the circumstances, but wrote that the violations are serious enough to warrant admonishment.
Campbell "clearly abused the prestige of judicial office in an effort to advance the interests of Mr. Giggenbach," the filing states. "Judges and judicial candidates 'must not become involved in, or publicly associated with a family member's [or friend's] political activity or campaign for public office," the commission noted the ethics rules state.
Campbell couldn't be reached on Tuesday. She didn't object to the admonishment.
Reach Kate White at kate.white@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-1723 or follow @KateLWhite on Twitter.