Stumped? Party affiliation and cues about Pinellas judicial candidates
Rick Scott or Bill McCollum? Jeff Greene or Kendrick Meek? Those are the easy decisions. There’s plenty of information readily available about the candidates. But judicial races are an entirely different creature. The average voter has no idea who these people are. And even those voters who are typically educated on these matters, such as myself, are still operating with very little information. I’ve been doing some research and I’ve compiled some information about the candidates. I know the candidates’ party affiliations, and, in some instances, I’ve managed to find other morsels of information which could help one make a decision. I hope this information assists you in making your choices. If you know any of the candidates, feel free to post a comment.
Click a candidate’s name to view their web site. Web site links will open in a new browser window.
Circuit Judge, 6th Circuit, Group 18
Edward J. Liebling (NPA) - Fave Supreme Court Justice = John Roberts (REP)
Patricia ‘Trish’ Muscarella (R) – Fave Supreme Court Justice = Antonin Scalia (REP)
Kathryn Marie Welsh (NPA) – Fave Supreme Court Justice = Elena Kagan (DEM) once confirmed
Circuit Judge, 6th Circuit, Group 20
Patrice Moore (D)
Tom Ramsberger (I)
Circuit Judge, 6th Circuit, Group 27
LeAnne Lake (R)
Kelly Ann McKnight (R)
Keith Meyer (R)
Jeff O’Brien (R)
Circuit Judge, 6th Circuit, Group 29
Michael Francis Andrews* (?) – believed to be a Democrat/unconfirmed
Deborah Moss (R)
Circuit Judge, 6th Circuit, Group 30
Susan St. John (D)
Kimberly ‘Kim’ Todd (R) – Endorsed by very conservative county commissioner Nancy Bostock
County Judge, Group 8
Thomas B. Freeman* (?) – His direct mail comes from The Mallard Group (Republican)
Wayne C. Mineo (R)
* incumbent – note that the incumbent judges do not appear in my voter file, and I was unable to confirm party affiliation.
Popularity: 45% [?]
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Great information! I’ve been looking for something like this for a while now. Thanks!
ty for this information
i plan to watch your website closely, esp’ly as the election gets closer
again, ty
Good site. Made all my decisions, but too bad it did not have the school board member info also. Thanks!
To associate Kim Todd with Neil Brickfield is accurate. Knowing Neil, I would call him conservative, but not necessarily “ultra” conservative. I admired his honesty when he did not agree to forego a 4% pay from his Commission job cut due to his economic situation at the time. He has since done so and donated the funds to various charities.
True honesty is admirable. Don’t get me wrong, we have had some serious disagreements politically. As a man, husband and father I admire him.
Vince
According to a source, (somewhat reliable), Ed Liebling began a diatribe with Robyn Blumner from the Times during his candidate interview that attorneys do not get paid enough for pro-bono work. Huh?
Check with Ms. Blumner to see if my source was accurate, or simply wait until the Times announces their endorsements.
Vince
Thanks for the ability to simplify searches on the various Judicial candidates.
Although I consider myself a conservative, I feel that affiliations with a specific party does not necessarily disqualify a candidate.
I am more interested in the application of the law and do not want people in judicial positions that interject the feeling, philosophies or other non-legal preferences into their decisions.
Thanks again for the site, I wish more people knew about it as I have spent at least 1.5 hours Google-ing each candidate.
Tom Marvin’s comment is well presented and in a civil manner.
Members of the Pinellas County Democratic Executive Committee take a loyalty oath to vote for Democrats. The only exception allowed is in non-partisan Judicial elections.
Unfortunately, as is in the case of most elections, he or she with the most $$$ wins.
I am certain that most voters do not take the time to check into the background, experience, pro-bono work, actual jury trial experience and numerous other factors that would constitute the election of the best candidate.
I agree with Tom. Party affiliation should be insignificant, experience and simple common sense of the candidate should prevail.
I think that party affiliation information may be useful to some voters when they’re trying to pick judicial candidates which reflect their own values. Ideally, voters will visit the candidates’ web sites, meet the candidates at events and do some research before voting. But let’s not kid ourselves; although some voters will do that, 75%+ of them will not. If they don’t get easily accessible information, some will flip a coin, others will vote on gender, and some will simply just fill in the oval next to the first name on the ballot.
There is very little information known about these candidates. I decided to do this post to share what information I do have, and I feel like I have done it objectively. Whether you are liberal, moderate, or conservative – Republican, Democrat, or a member of no party or a different party – you can probably find something useful, either from the facts (party registration, favorite Supreme Court justices, etc.) or by going to the candidate web sites through the links on the site.
I am not satisfied with the amount of information I have provided, but it’s a start. I’m trying to get more info about these candidates, and I will definitely share what I find.
Thanks for the available information. As a former law firm administrator, I know that all of the data mentioned in prior posts exists. It’s too bad it isn’t made available to voters. I would agree that much more should be known about judicial candidates in order to properly make decisions. Thanks for what you can provide. Maybe some of this that know can help by adding information. I would, but all of my information now predates some of the candidates total experience.
What does party affiliation have to do with a candidate’s ability to be a good judge? I commend you for trying to dig up “clues” about the judicial candidates however, by now much has been printed and posted by the major newspapers. It is interesting to note that the St. Petersburg Times, usually regarded as a liberal, Democratic leaning newspaper endorsed Kim Todd for judge for her “longer and more diverse experience”.
When electing someone for a six year term as a Circuit Court judge we the voters should take our responsibility very seriously. I think it is important to remember that only 24% of the cases heard in Circuit Court are criminal while a whopping 76% are civil and include; divorces, child custody, probate and guardianship, as well as lawsuits alleging damages in excess of $15,000 which include home foreclosures, accident and injury cases, business/corporate law and many other civil categories. If I had a case pending in Circuit Court, I would hope that the judge hearing my case had at least some trial experience in the areas of civil law that the majority of cases fall into. Experience in all areas of the law both civil and criminal is very important – so vote accordingly.
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