Gov. John Hoeven named Minot attorney Todd Cresap as the newest Northwest District Court judge Monday, noting that Cresap "has the people skills to be an outstanding judge."

We agree.

Cresap was one of three finalists for the position. The other finalists were Minot attorney William Bergman and Kelly Dillon, an assistant Ward County state's attorney. The new position was created by the 2009 Legislature to help handle the growing number of cases in northwest North Dakota.

Hoeven noted and Cresap agreed during his remarks at a short ceremony Monday that any one of the finalists would have been a fine choice to fill the new judge position. Hoeven was right in saying that the fact there were so many quality candidates bodes well for the residents of northwest North Dakota.

We believe Cresap will be an outstanding addition to the Northwest Judicial District. He ran unsuccessfully for a seat on the bench in 2006, when he lost a close race to current Northwest District Judge Richard Hagar. Cresap has been involved in a wide variety of cases during his years in private practice. Hoeven lauded Cresap's outstanding character, intelligence and thoughtfulness, as well as his ongoing work with the local juvenile drug court program. Cresap's calm, professional demeanor will serve him well on the bench when he begins his new position Jan. 1.

We congratulate Cresap on being named a Northwest District court judge. He has a lot of work waiting for him.