Breaking: Senate Confirms DeCaria for Judgeship 24-3

Ogden homeboy Mark Decaria will be donning judge's robes and ruling from Ogden's 2nd District Court bench

Good news for Weber County local self-government advocates from this breaking Salt Lake Tribune story:

Weber County Attorney Mark DeCaria will soon be donning judge's robes and ruling from a 2nd District Court bench.
State senators confirmed the Democrat's appointment Thursday in a 24-3 vote.
"The man is one of the most prepared people I've seen this body ratify as a judge," said Sen. Jon Greiner, R-Ogden, describing DeCaria as "a great attorney, a stellar, stand-up kind of guy."

Despite the unanimous pro-Decaria recommendation from the Weber County Republican Party Executive Committee, Democrat DeCaria's appointment nevertheless caught flak from the Utah legislative GOP wingnut faction:

Republican senators Mark Madsen, Howard Stephenson and Steve Urquhart cast the dissenting votes.
"I just think there are a lot of qualified people in the state, I think we could have done better," Urquhart said, declining to comment further.

Decaria's approval by the overwhelmingly GOP state senate demonstrates the kind of bi-partisonship which we'd like to see on the Hill in the future.

As an Ogden home-boy who has demonstrated sound prosecutorial discretion and concern for our local citizenry during his tenure as Weber County Attorney, Decaria is an ideal choice for a seat on our Ogden-headquartered 2nd District Court bench, we believe.

If Senators Madsen, Stephenson and Urquhart had prevailed, Judge Baldwin's now vacated seat would no doubt be occupied by an out-of-area judicial carpetbagger, with no familiarity with the local neighborhood.

And what say our gentle readers about all this?