Sitting Superior Court judges in Georgia usually don’t face opposition at the polls, but in the circuit that includes White and Lumpkin counties, two are being challenged for their jobs for a second straight election cycle.

Lynn Alderman, who won the race to fill an open seat on the Enotah Judicial Circuit Superior Court bench in 2006, faces opposition in the nonpartisan, four-county race from Dahlonega attorney Ridge Rairigh.

Enotah Circuit Superior Court Judge David Barrett, who has served in the position since being appointed by Gov. Zell Miller in 1992, is being challenged by the circuit’s juvenile court judge, David Turk.

“That’s one of the good things about a democracy, is everybody gets to run,” Barrett said.

Barrett is running for re-election on his record.

“I think for the last 18 years I’ve served this circuit and this state exceedingly well,” he said.

Barrett said local attorneys would attest that he is hard-working, and that few cases decided in his court were reversed on appeal, saving taxpayer money.

Barrett also faced opposition four years ago, when he won more than 70 percent of the vote against challenger James E. “Bubba” Palmour.

Barrett said he would not engage in criticizing his opposition in the race.

“The judiciary needs to keep its integrity,” he said. “If it doesn’t keep its integrity, it damages much, much more than it helps.”

Turk, who was appointed to the juvenile court judgeship by Barrett three years ago, said he decided to run against him after getting feedback from the community.

“When you’re in a small, rural circuit, people come up to you and express either their satisfaction or their dissatisfaction with how things are going,” Turk said.

“I appreciate the value of the individual and never lose sight that I’m there to serve the public,” Turk said. “I try to treat everybody with a certain amount of dignity and respect. And that’s something I feel like I can bring to the bench, perhaps better than the incumbent.”

Alderman said she was not surprised that someone chose to run against her. “This particular opponent has been saying he was contemplating a run, so it didn’t surprise me,” she said.

Alderman, a former juvenile court judge and assistant district attorney, said she has enjoyed her time in public service.

“I think we’ve been able to make some improvements and changes that are in response to the growing population and needs of the court in our circuit, and I want to continue to be able to do that,” Alderman said. “If it isn’t broken, we don’t need to fix it. But I can always understand that people want the opportunity to try things themselves.”

Rairigh said he wasn’t running specifically against Alderman for the judgeship.

“I’m not so much running against Lynn Alderman, I’m running for the community, for my family and for myself,” Rairigh said. “But I am running for the position where she now sits.”

Rairigh, a former deputy district attorney in Colorado, clerked for Hall County Superior Court Judge John Girardeau before going into private practice. He opened his own office in Dawsonville in 2006, which he recently moved to Dahlonega. He and his wife have lived in Dahlonega since 2004.

Rairigh said he had been planning a run for a while and wanted to work to uphold the principles of the law.

“Lady Justice is blindfolded for a reason,” Rairigh said. “Everyone who comes before the court should be treated with civility and a certain sense of humility, with firm and fair justice being handed out across the board for everyone, no matter the person or entity.”

Besides White and Lumpkin counties, the Enotah Judicial Circuit also encompasses Towns and Union counties.

In Hall and Dawson counties, the superior court judgeships will stay the same after qualifying closed with no one challenging incumbents Andy Fuller and Jason Deal.

“I was very happy that I drew no opposition for my judgeship,” said Deal, the son of Republican gubernatorial candidate Nathan Deal. “One Deal running a contested campaign during an election cycle is enough.”

Jason Deal, who oversees drug courts for Hall and Dawson counties, was appointed to the judgeship by Gov. Sonny Perdue in 2005 and elected unopposed in 2006.

“I enjoy my job as a superior court judge and look forward to serving the citizens of Hall and Dawson counties for another four years,” Deal said.

Fuller, the chief judge for the Northeastern Judicial Circuit, has served on the superior court bench since 1993. He was unavailable for comment this week.

The other two superior court judges in Hall and Dawson counties, Kathlene Gosselin and Bonnie Oliver, also were unopposed when they came up for re-election two years ago.