Alan Page has achieved the pinnacle in his career as a footballer, philanthropist and jurist at the Minnesota Supreme Court. Every time I’m out with him in public, people come up to me to say hello or ask for an autograph. It is difficult to believe, looking back at the past 30 years that he almost didn’t become the Minnesota Supreme Court.
On a morning walk, my father told me “It was extremely disappointing”. We recalled the difficulties he had to overcome when he ran for the Minnesota Supreme Court in 1990, and again in 1992. Gov. Rudy Perpich blocked my father from running for the Supreme Court of Canada in 1990. My father filed a petition in July 1990 to run for Justice Glenn Kelley’s Supreme Court seat. Justice Kelley was required to retire shortly after running for re-election. However, Gov. Perpich ensured that my father was not allowed to run for office when Justice Kelley resigned early. The governor appointed his replacement.
In 1992, the same thing happened again. Arne Carlson tried to stop my father from running for a Supreme Court Seat by extending the Minnesota Supreme Court Judge Lawrence Yetka’s term for two years. Justice Yetka, at the time of this election, was 68. He wanted to continue serving until he reached 70, the age at which he must retire, without running for reelection. This would allow him to maximize his pension benefits. The governor granted Justice Yetka’s wish.
The governor, however, underestimated my dad’s resolve to fight against a decision he believed was wrong and in violation of Minnesota law. Jim Finks was the Minnesota Vikings’ general manager during my father’s football career. He said in Bill McGrane’s book “All Rise: the Remarkable Journey Of Alan Page” that “if Alan Page says he’ll play five years more of football at the top level, he’ll do it.” Alan Page will run the marathon if he says so. Alan Page will run a marathon if he says so. He will do this quietly, without much fanfare or chest-thumping. He just does it.”
My father chose to challenge the governor’s ruling because he was determined to run as a candidate for the Minnesota Supreme Court. He wanted the Minnesotan people to decide who would be the next Supreme Court Justice. He didn’t do this quietly. My father tried to run for Justice Yetka’s seat at the Minnesota Supreme Court on July 15, 1992. Page 488 N.W.2d 274 (Minn. 1992). The Minnesota secretary of state refused my father’s candidacy because of an order from the governor. Id.
My father petitioned the Minnesota Supreme Court to contest Gov. My father filed a petition with the Minnesota Supreme Court to challenge Carlson’s ruling. The petition challenged Secretary of State’s refusal of his name to be placed on the ballot in the 1992 primary elections as a candidate for Associate Justice Yetka. All the Supreme Court justices exercised their right to recuse themselves due to the possibility of a conflict. A panel of retired judges was appointed to hear the case. This unprecedented and historic move took place in a historical and unprecedented manner. Id. Id.
The Supreme Court was faced with two questions: (1) whether or not it had the original jurisdiction to hear the case and decide the issue; and (2) if a judge approaching retirement age has an automatic right to a term extension to maximize his retirement benefits. Id. The court found that Minnesota law was violated by the governor’s decision on August 20, 1992 to extend Justice Yetka’s term. Id. p. 282.
The court determined that it had jurisdiction over my father’s case on the first issue. The court found that the “public interest” required a quick determination of whether or not the Governor’s abrogation of an election for Justice Yetka was illegal as a legal matter and whether petitioner has a right to be placed on the ballot in the primary. Id. At 278.
In regard to the second question, the court found that “an extension of a judge’s term should only be granted when necessary to allow the judge to serve the minimum number years required to become eligible to receive a pension. The extension should not, however, be granted in order to allow a judge maximize or enhance the pension for which he is already eligible and avoid an election.” Page 488 N.W.2d at 282. The court determined that the governor’s decision to extend Justice Yetka’s tenure was illegal because Justice Yetka had become eligible for a pension in 1989. Id., at 281.
My father, upon hearing the decision, was quoted by the Star Tribune saying “I’m thrilled for two reasons.” The people of Minnesota, however, are the real winners. The Court has ruled that elections are required by the Constitution and the election will proceed.”
Justice Yetka decided not to run for re-election after the Supreme Court’s decision. The decision, however, prompted my father and other candidates to run for an open seat.
My father is quiet and reserved. My father is reserved and quiet. These are not necessarily good traits for a campaign for any office let alone one that spans the entire state. But again, my father shouldn’t be underestimated. In McGrane’s biography, my late mother Diane Page was quoted as saying: “Runnin for office was intimidating for him but you should have watched him campaign.” He was tireless. He visited every town in the state. Alan is very focused and goal-oriented, and he did not take anything for granted.”
The shyness of my father was not the only thing he had to overcome in order to be elected. He had to also overcome the argument that his qualifications were lacking and that he relied on his former football player reputation to win. My father was one of two candidates who won the primary election. He then faced Kevin Johnson, the assistant Hennepin county attorney, in the general elections.
Johnson claimed that my father had used his football playing reputation to gain the seat on the court and was trying to buy it. Johnson said in a Star Tribune on September 10, 1992, “Alan Page is nice guy and a great footballer [but] not qualified to be on the Supreme Court.” Johnson used racially-coded language in suggesting that my father wasn’t qualified. In an Star Tribune piece in October 1992 he said, “[i]f Alan Page gets elected, unfortunately it may reinforce the incorrect notion that you can only get minorities in positions of responsibility by [selecting] symbol, unqualified persons.”
The attacks seemed to be working. A fall survey conducted by the Minnesota State Bar Association of lawyers found that Johnson received 54% support and my father 46%.
My father was not deterred by the negative campaigning. His slogan was “Alan Page A Justice for All” and he took his campaign directly to the Minnesotan people. He visited Minnesota, appeared on television and radio, and spoke to Minnesotans. He responded to the Johnson campaign’s criticisms by referring to his 13 years in private practice, and at the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office. He litigated in district court as well as argued cases before the Minnesota Supreme Court.
Both attorneys and non-attorneys endorsed him. The Star Tribune endorsed my father’s campaign in 1992 by writing: “The clear thinking which is one of Alan Page’s many qualifications for Minnesota’s highest court, was evident when he challenged the gubernatorial prolongation of a Minnesota Supreme Court Justice’s term and battled for an election.” Page’s diverse experience, dedication to justice, and keen mind are all reasons for his election.
On election day, my father’s hard work paid off. My father was elected to the Minnesota Supreme Court by a large margin. By winning the election, my father became the first African American elected to a state office and the first African American who sat on the Court. On January 4, 1993, he was sworn as a Minnesota Supreme Court member.
My father ran for reelection three more times, and the citizens of Minnesota each time overwhelmingly elected him to the court. According to a Star Tribune article in 1998, my father received the highest number of votes for a statewide race. He continued to serve as a judge until 2015, when he turned 70. This is the mandatory retirement age in Minnesota for judges.
My father’s journey to the Minnesota Supreme Court was not a smooth one. It was often bumpy, but his courage in challenging the Governor’s decision on extending Justice Yetka’s term changed the course of history and made him “a Justice for All.”
The article Former justice Alan Page: A Page of History first appeared on Attorney at Law Magazine.