I am seeking re‑election as Crown Point City Judge because I truly enjoy my work and the trust placed in me by our citizens over the last 20 years as your Judge. I wish to continue the many improvements I made for the benefit of the City Court and our community. Because Crown Point is such a desirable place to live, work, and play, we now have the largest population, largest development, and largest police force in our City’s history. With that growth comes great responsibility to manage it in a way that can preserve our hometown feel while continuing to meet the needs of our citizens.
For the City Court, this means keeping up with the caseload and strong enforcement of our City ordinances and state laws. While supervising the City Court’s 3,000 cases per year and staff of 8, I oversaw all improvements to the City Court. This included scheduling hearings to better meet the public’s needs, increasing staffing, moving to better court locations, and updating computer and online systems. Aside from these achievements, I believe I am the most qualified and experienced candidate as an attorney of 31 years, a business owner on the Square for 25 years, and your City Judge for the last 20 years. I graduated with honors from the University of Notre Dame and from Indiana University School of Law, Magna Cum Laude. I have worked hard for 20 years to improve our City Court and how it serves our citizens and police department. I established an Infraction Deferral Program to allow traffic violators to earn cleaner driving records, a Probation Department to monitor criminal defendants, and expanded the Court staff, equipment and computer systems to better serve our citizens. I am proud of the offender educational opportunities I initiated for both adult and youth offenders to help them make better decisions and not become repeat offenders. These include educating youth in the dangers of underage drinking, drugs, and e‑cigarette use by requiring them to attend education courses and perform community service. If re-elected, I will continue to use my good judgment, experience, and dedication to our community for the betterment of the City Court and our community.
Most important is continuing to efficiently and fairly handle the City Court’s 3,000 cases each year with total transparency. I implemented the Odyssey Court System in 2019 allowing on-line access to all City Court cases. I also initiated e‑filing and on‑line ticket payment in 2022 to better serve our police, prosecutors, and citizens. The public can now view their case status and pay traffic tickets online without having to appear in Court. Hearings are also open to the public. We also began using Zoom hearings in City Court in recent years to allow remote Court appearances when necessary (i.e. COVID) and when needed for those who have difficultly attending court in person.
I thank you for allowing me to serve as your Judge for the last 20 years and ask for your vote on November 7th to continue my service to Crown Point.