In her recent letter to the editor, Ms. Hicks says that Mr. Anderson has several hundred endorsements, but he does not advertise them because “a judge should not seek endorsements from people or organizations that may appear before him while he is on the bench.”

There are two problems with this assertion.

Mr. Anderson has, in fact, sought endorsements. For example, he sought the endorsement of the Deputy District Attorneys Association – precisely the people who would appear before him on a regular basis as a judge.

He also sought the endorsement of the Lake County Democratic Party which Ms. Hicks now refers to as meaningless. But Mr. Anderson obviously seemed to find it worth his time to go through the rigorous endorsement process in the spring. The endorsement was given to his opponent, Shanda Harry.

I know people personally who were called by Mr. Anderson requesting an endorsement, but they declined. They had already committed to Ms. Harry, believing her to be better qualified to be the next Lake County Superior Court judge.

Perhaps the area of greatest concern in Ms. Hicks’ letter is the claim of Mr. Anderson keeping secret the list of “several hundred” endorsements. How will we know if any of these people appear before him while he is on the bench? We have no list against which to check. It brings to mind how Mr. Anderson handed out up to $250,000 to various charities in this county from public funds without any checks or balances causing concerns for the Grand Jury and the Board of Supervisors about the appearance of impropriety.

On the other hand, Ms. Harry has all of her endorsements publicly available for scrutiny on her Web site and has her financial reports containing a list of her donors and expenses filed online for public access – not so, Mr. Anderson.

Ms. Harry has run a completely transparent campaign. The suggestion that there is any payback expected by any of Ms. Harry’s endorsers is repugnant. It is also insulting to those who have endorsed her.

Endorsements in political campaigns are as old as time – citizens stepping up and proudly putting their names forward publicly for their chosen candidate.

Mr. Anderson’s latest “stunt” of disparaging endorsements as the campaign winds down seems an act of desperation by a candidate who has fallen short in garnering sufficient support.

Vote for the candidate who put in the hard work to build an impressive list of endorsers from all political backgrounds and who values transparency in all that she does – Shanda Harry for Superior Court judge.

Pierre Cutler lives in north Lakeport, Calif.