Image: DIS

*UPDATED WITH EMAIL ADDRESS FOR GOVERNOR KEMP

Governor Kemp can be emailed at

brian.kemp (@) georgia.gov

The governor’s office phone number is 404-656-1776.

*They do not seem to have voicemail after business hours/weekends right now.

GALEO’s Dax Lopez was previously nominated by Barack Obama for a lifetime term on the federal District Court in Georgia, but because of his association with the radical, leftist GALEO, that confirmation was stopped by Georgia’s U.S. senators in 2016, with Sen. David Perdue taking the lead. You can read about that here and here.

Dax Lopez runs for office as a Republican but seems to have a lot of Democrat donors!

Here is a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee from Cobb County Sheriff, Neil Warren.

Then, later in 2016, Lopez – who has asked that state illegal immigration bills be vetoed – and helped GALEO with fundraising, was nominated for the Georgia Supreme Court. He withdrew when it was clear the public outrage had not been forgotten.

Both times, many state legislators and elected officials, including Georgia sheriffs, sent letters of opposition to Washington and the governor’s office. We at DIS were happy and proud to organize the fight both times. You can read all about it here and here.

Republican Governor Kemp needs to hear from Republican voters on promoting GALEO’s Dax Lopez. Do you want a former GALEO board member as a Superior Court judge in a state with more illegal aliens than Arizona?

After he was rejected by the U.S. Senate for federal court, will Gov. Kemp really promote GALEO’s Dax Lopez? Is this what Republicans elected Governor Brian Kemp to do concerning our courts? 

–> You can see the entire DIS blog archive on Dax Lopez here.

IF you want to help us fight the crime of illegal immigration in Georgia, please get on our email list here.

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Daily Report
May 2, 2019

Judicial Nominating Commission Sends Kemp 3 Shortlists

Nominees are now on Gov. Brian Kemp’s desk to fill vacancies in the Coweta, Macon and Stone Mountain Judicial Circuit Superior Courts. They could become some of the governor’s first judicial appointments since taking office in January…

For the Stone Mountain Judicial Circuit:

• Dax E. Lopez, judge, State Court of DeKalb County
• Stacey K. Hydrick, judge, State Court of DeKalb County
• Shondeana Crews Morris, judge, State Court of DeKalb County, Traffic Division.    Here

State Court Judge and GALEO board member (circa 2011) Dax Lopez. Image: Twitter

From the Charlotte Observer, Feb 2016.

“Two years earlier, while Lopez was in private practice and a treasurer with the Latino association, he wrote then-Gov. Sonny Perdue, requesting a gubernatorial veto of two pieces of legislation, House Bill 978 and Senate Bill 350. Both measures were believed to disproportionately affect Georgia’s growing immigrant community.

Gov. Perdue did veto HB 978, which authorized the impounding of vehicles from operators who had no valid driver’s licenses. But he signed Senate Bill 350 into law, making a fourth conviction for driving without a license a felony.

The measure also requires police to determine the nationality of anyone jailed after being convicted for driving without a license. The Latino officials association opposed the measure, saying it would create tension between immigrants and law enforcement while making crime victims and witnesses less likely to contact police.”

Read more here.

Georgia Senator David Perdue. Image: Twitter

“After a thorough review of the professional and judicial record of DeKalb County Judge Dax Lopez, I have become uncomfortable with his long-standing participation in a controversial organization, including his service on its board of directors,” Perdue wrote in a statement. “I believe similar concerns would be raised by many of my colleagues, making Judge Lopez’s final confirmation unattainable.”

Read more here: https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/politics-government/article61366457.html#storylink=cpy

The below letter was forwarded to us today. I included two hyperlinks to educate readers. – dak

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May 5, 2019

Dear Governor Kemp,

It has come to my attention that there is a vacancy for the Stone Mountain Judicial Court. I saw that Dax Lopez is on the short list as a judge for the State Court of DeKalb County.

While I am not familiar with the other names, there is one that stands out that I would not like to represent our courts in any capacity. That is Dax Lopez.

Mr. Lopez has a history of being an activist and board member in the advocacy organization GALEO. This organization has lobbied against enforcement of our immigration laws, 287g, and tightening our voter identification process, just to name a few things. While I am fairly certain you would not appoint someone with his history, I felt compelled enough to send you this letter.

As you may know or recall, our two Georgia senators would not recommend him for a federal court judge.

Thank you for taking the time to read this.

Sincerely,

Judy Craft

Peachtree Corners, GA 30092

Atlanta Journal Constitution

Letters to the editor,

September 9, 2016

Lopez not in tune with most Georgians

We are proud to have easily organized the opposition to Dax Lopez for the state Supreme Court and the letter-writing campaign to the governor. Contrary to reports, our objections have nothing to do with Lopez’s ethnicity.

Dax Lopez spent more than a decade as a board member of the anti-enforcement immigration corporation GALEO, which is funded by big business. Lopez acted as keynote speaker at a GALEO funder after becoming a state court judge.

Lopez’s declaration that he “agrees with their mission” must always be viewed with the knowledge that the Jane Fonda – supported GALEO has smeared law enforcement officers who dare to help enforce immigration laws. GALEO has marched against immigration enforcement, lobbied against E-verify laws designed to protect legal workers, against local jails honoring Immigration and Customs Enforcement holds for criminal aliens, and vehemently opposed voter ID. And they lobby against English as our official language.

Neither GALEO or Lopez are in the Georgia mainstream.

D.A. KING, PRESIDENT OF THE DUSTIN INMAN SOCIETY

HERE

Atlanta Journal Constitution

Sept 6, 2016

Latino judge faced stiff opposition to seat on Georgia’s top court

Greg Bluestein reporting

More than 130 lawyers were nominated for the three open Georgia Supreme Court slots, but there was only one who provoked a storm of letters to Gov. Nathan Deal’s office.

Two county sheriffs urged Deal not to appoint State Court Judge Dax Lopez to Georgia’s highest bench. A conservative Atlanta group said his history should “disqualify” him from the seat. And a string of voters added their objections, using the words “frightening” and “stupid” to describe his potential candidacy.

The judge’s offense? His past membership in the Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials, a bipartisan advocacy group that supports a path to citizenship for people in the U.S. illegally and fought tougher state laws on immigration.

For Lopez, a Hispanic Republican who decided last month not to seek appointment to the state’s top bench, it is a familiar line of attack.

The same criticism led U.S. Sen. David Perdue to scuttle Lopez’s nomination in January after President Barack Obama sought to make him the state’s first lifetime-appointed Latino federal judge. And a Republican challenger in a failed May campaign to oust Lopez from the DeKalb County bench labeled him a “rejected politician.”

The pushback against him illustrates the GOP’s hard-line tilt over immigration that fueled Donald Trump’s presidential nomination — and why it can be difficult for the party to attract Latinos.

Deal has three slots to fill on the Georgia Supreme Court because state lawmakers went along with his plan this year to add two positions to the court. Another long-serving justice is set to retire in January.

Lopez, who declined to comment Tuesday, stepped down from GALEO in September 2015, shortly after his nomination to the federal bench. But he has said he was frustrated he did not get a chance to tell his side of the story during the federal nomination process. Latino advocates say it’s symptomatic of deeper problems.

“Anti-immigrant activists are extremists and not in the mainstream, and GALEO has Latino community members from both sides of the aisle,” said Jerry Gonzalez, GALEO’s executive director. “The current political environment has stoked many xenophobic and racist ideas that, polls show, are repulsed by many Americans.”

‘History should disqualify him’

When Obama tapped Lopez for the seat in July 2015 it seemed to many to be a foregone conclusion. State Republican Party counsel Anne Lewis, former state House Majority Whip Ed Lindsey and other prominent GOP attorneys signed a letter to the senators in support of Lopez a few months later.

But a groundswell of conservative blowback quickly slowed the momentum as critics highlighted his past membership on GALEO’s board. It dovetailed with a hardening GOP immigration stance that featured Trump’s tough-talking call for mass deportations of millions of immigrants living in the U.S. illegally and construction of a wall on the border with Mexico.

That opposition continues to haunt Lopez, a member of the conservative Federalist Society who was first appointed to the Georgia bench by then-Republican Gov. Sonny Perdue. Under pressure to increase diversity on the state’s top bench, Lopez was considered by some observers a serious contender for an open seat.

But The Atlanta Journal-Constitution found that Deal had received a string of anti-Lopez letters that revealed just how divisive his nomination would have been. The Lopez critiques were the only ones sent to Deal’s office in recent months singling out a potential judicial candidate.

The executive board of the Conservative Republican Women of North Atlanta wrote Deal that Lopez’s “history should disqualify” him. Gwinnett County Sheriff Butch Conway said Lopez “closely aligned himself with a radical organization,” and Union County Sheriff Mark Mason said Lopez’s ties to GALEO were a deal-breaker.

“Say it ain’t so!” added a voter, Ernest Wade of Loganville. “If you appoint Dax Lopez to Georgia’s Supreme Court, then we all know that you have been deceiving us.”

Much of the opposition was marshaled by D.A. King, an activist who casts himself as a defender of immigration law and an opponent of GALEO. King cheered Perdue’s decision to block the Lopez nomination earlier this year, and urged his supporters to dial Deal’s office last month to oppose an “anti-enforcement judge from the illegal alien lobby.”… READ THE REST HERE

AJC

Political Insider blogger Greg Bluestein:

August 26, 2016

“Leading Georgia Latino judge won’t seek state Supreme Court seat

The DeKalb County jurist who was blocked from becoming Georgia’s first Latino federal judge earlier this year has withdrawn his name from one of three vacancies on the Georgia Supreme Court.

Dax Lopez, seen as a strong contender for one of the openings, said Thursday that he’s “humbled” to have been nominated but that he wants to instead focus on his role as a DeKalb State Court judge.

Lopez – who is Jewish, Republican and Hispanic – was President Barack Obama’s nominee for a U.S. District judgeship last year. His nomination was scuttled by U.S. Sen. David Perdue after anti-illegal immigration forces in Georgia pointed to Lopez’ past association with certain Latino groups.

Lopez was among 130 attorneys nominated for the open spots – two created by legislation that boosts the court from seven justices to nine and a third left open by Chief Justice Hugh Thompson’s decision to retire in January. Several other possible contenders have also dropped out of the running, including Court of Appeals Judge Stephen Dillard.

With the three new openings, Gov. Nathan Deal has the chance to appoint a majority of the court’s bench before he leaves office in January 2019. He has already made one appointment – Keith Blackwell was tapped in June 2012 – and Presiding Justice Harris Hines also said he plans to retire before Deal’s tenure is up.

Here’s Lopez’s full statement:

Recently, someone was nice enough to submit my name for consideration for one of the open spots on the Georgia Supreme Court. While I am truly honored and humbled that someone would think me worthy enough for such an important position, I have decided not to submit an application. While it would be a great honor to serve on the highest court in Georgia, I enjoy being a trial judge and I love serving the people of DeKalb County. There are many excellent candidates seeking these posts, and I am confident that the three individuals chosen will serve the people of Georgia with honor and distinction.” HERE

August 11, 2016

Dear Governor Deal,

I was recently informed that Dax Lopez is being considered for a seat on the Georgia Supreme Court, if this is true, it is truly unfortunate for all Georgians. Mr. Lopez has served on the Board of GALEO, a radical activist organization that supports illegal immigration and strongly opposes immigration law enforcement. They also support open borders and illegal aliens.

GALEO currently supports the hiring of non-U.S. Citizens to be police officers, a dangerous and unnecessary thing to do during these trying times where we have global terrorism. We need to be tightening up on our security and safety, not providing the keys to the kingdom to those that haven’t taken an oath to serve, protect Americans, and defend our constitution.

Mr. Lopez with GALEO has:

-Organized and participated in marches in the streets of Atlanta demanding and end to any enforcement of American immigration laws;

-Lobbied against Georgia sheriffs cooperation with federal immigration law enforcement authorities and congratulated sheriffs for refusing to honor ICE detainers served on criminal deportable aliens;

-And lobbied against any state laws that inhibit the crimes of illegal immigration and illegal employment.

Dax Lopez harbors these radical views, which would serve to influence his judicial decisions to the detriment of all Georgians. I hope the commission can find other nominees that don’t have an agenda such as the one displayed by Mr. Lopez.

Respectfully,

Robert M. Trent
Senior Special Agent (Ret.)
U.S. Immigration Service

CC: Judicial Nomination Commission