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Thursday, February 21, 2008

Edgewood Municipal Judge Election

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    The Telegraph sent each of the municipal judge candidates in Edgewood an identical questionnaire. Here are their answers.
    AGE: 56
    OCCUPATION: Retired.
    EDUCATION: 15 years. Three years of criminal justice, but hold no degree.
    FAMILY: Married with two children.
    POLITICAL OR GOVERNMENT EXPERIENCE: Eighteen years of working with the Alaska Court System in criminal and civil law. Experience as Clerk of the Courts and as Acting Magistrate. I also have 3 years of experience as an examiner with the National Flood Insurance Program, a division of FEMA.
    PRIORITIES: With all communities large or small, growth brings with it crime. Edgewood needs to be ready. We need to make sure that our neighborhoods, streets and businesses are safe. Edgewood has taken what I think are good steps to prevent crime and apprehend violators. We all have to grow with the times.
    BIGGEST ISSUES: Making sure that crime is taken seriously and that the law is upheld. If a person commits a crime they need to be accountable. I feel that if a lawbreaker harms someone they should not be able to avoid paying restitution by claiming they are indigent. There are alternatives. If you do the crime, you must be held responsible for your actions.
    AGE: 61
    OCCUPATION: Retired military pilot. I had served for 33 years in various capacities, including the last 41/2 years as the Wing Commander.
    EDUCATION: Undergraduate degree from UNM. I regularly attend various legal training, both required and discretionary, as a part of my commitment to maintain the highest professional standards for the Municipal Court.
    FAMILY: Married over 35 years to Jo White. Two sons, Will and Tom, both live in Albuquerque with their wives, Kirsten and April, and five grandchildren ranging from 4 years to 16 months.
    POLITICAL OR GOVERNMENT EXPERIENCE: I served approximately one year on the Edgewood Planning and Zoning Commission before being appointed to fill the unfinished term of the municipal judge. I was elected to a full term for this office in 2004. My total time on the bench is about 6 years.
    PRIORITIES: My highest priority is to provide a court which operates in a dignified, courteous, and efficient manner in order to ensure the impartial administration of justice to all parties.
    BIGGEST ISSUES: The biggest issue facing the court in the near future is to ensure that we keep pace with the expected increase in caseload due to the creation of a town police department. I have already made my comments regarding this issue to the ad hoc committee that was studying police department formation at the behest of the Council. Briefly, I certainly expect an increased workload, but believe that this can be accommodated for some time to come with the resources now available. It is worth noting that when my clerk and I undertook to automate the administrative functions of the court shortly after I was appointed, we did so with an eye to handling future growth.
    That being said, I would expect to need the Council's help with some ancillary issues such as contracting for public defender support and arranging for short-term incarceration of small numbers of prisoners. I have enjoyed commendable support in the past from our Council and I anticipate nothing different in the future.