By John McCann

jmccann@heraldsun.com; 419-6601

DURHAM — Getting a jump on the 2010 election season, Durham County District Court Judge Elaine Bushfan said she will run for Durham County Superior Court Judge Ronald Stephens’ seat.

Nothing is official because candidates can’t file to run for an elected office until noon Feb. 8. The filing period ends at noon Feb. 26.

Bushfan said announcing now gives others — particularly attorneys who’ll need to think about getting out of private practice — interested in her District Court seat an opportunity to prepare.

Bushfan said she recently spoke with Stephens about his intention to retire.

“I wouldn’t dare challenge one of our sitting judges,” because they do a good job, Bushfan explained.

Attempts to reach Stephens for this story were unsuccessful.

Bushfan said her early announcement also gives voters a little more time to consider what she’s done as a legal professional. And if she’s victorious, Bushfan would become Durham’s first female superior court judge, said Tuwana Capers, the judicial assistant for Durham’s district court judges.

Bushfan became a district court judge in 1994. She became chief district court judge in 2002. Bushfan said she’s been a judge longer than she was a practicing attorney.

A graduate of N.C. Central University both for her undergraduate and law degrees, Bushfan, 47, has a tell-it-like-it-is vibe both inside and outside of the courthouse. A couple of summers ago during a community forum at the John Avery Boys & Girls Club, Bushfan, a black woman, told a predominately black crowd that black people spend too much time talking about problems rather than solving them. And the judge this year was at a courthouse ceremony to show love to a couple of young ladies who’d blossomed after going through the 14th Judicial District Drug Treatment Court.

“I take my whole self to the bench,” said Bushfan, who acknowledged there may be some lessening of her role as a community activist if she becomes a superior court judge. “The impact may not be the same.”

That’s because superior court judges serve in rotations that have them ruling in courthouses in various counties.

“She really won’t be in Durham but roughly 6 months out of 18,” Durham County Senior Resident Superior Court Judge Orlando Hudson said.

Still, Bushfan would bring to superior court a great deal of experience from district court, and those rotations rarely would take Bushfan more than an hour away from Durham, Hudson said.

Which would fit real well with Bushfan’s plans to help revive the North-East Central Durham community. She and her husband hope to have a diner open for business by the start of the new year, with an Internet café and grocery store to follow, Bushfan said. Those are the sorts of things that would help her keep her finger on the pulse of Durham, she said.

“We will still be helping out in the community,” Bushfan said.

CORRECTION:

An article Tuesday about the 2010 election should have indicated that a candidate seeking a post as a Durham County Superior Court judge would not run for a particular seat but instead aim toward finishing among the top-three vote getters for the three-tiered judgeship.