1. Why are you interested in being the probate judge?

I believe that our country was founded on the premise that it was every citizen’s obligation to serve where his/her individual talents allowed him/her to be a part of our government to ensure that we remain the greatest country on the face of the earth.

I believe that I possess the talent, experience and demeanor to serve as the Probate Judge of Fayette County. My wife and I have lived in this community since 1987 and have seen our county grow and blossom into the great place it is today. It has been and will continue to be a fantastic place to live and raise a family.

We have been blessed to have the Honorable Martha Stephenson as our Probate Judge for the past sixteen years. Judge Stephenson and her staff are a credit to our County government and her citizens. It is truly a well-run court which I believe is one of the best anywhere around. I pledge to work to keep this quality in our court for all the citizens of Fayette County.

I have spent the past thirty-four years as a member of the State Bar of Georgia, where I have had the opportunity to work and learn in many different facets of the law. I have served as a judge on the Federal, military, county superior court, municipal and County Probate levels, and feel that I possess the talents and experience to assist me in following Judge Stephenson’s footsteps. I earnestly and reverently ask the citizens of Fayette County for the opportunity to serve them in this important position.

2. What is your experience in probate court matters?

I have practiced Probate Court matters of varying kinds and degrees for the majority of the time I have practiced law over the past thirty-four years. For the past six years, I have had the privilege of serving the Fayette County citizens as the Judge Pro Hac Vice (assistant judge serving on the rare occasions when Judge Stephenson had a conflict, was on vacation or for other reasons) for the Fayette County Probate Court, as well as serving as the County Guardian, Administrator and Conservator. This means that I was called upon by the Court to represent persons who came before the court and needed representation on certain types of Petitions such as Incompetence Hearings, representing minors, senior citizens, deceased individuals who left no will and had no one to manage and distribute their estate or any other such matters. It has been my pleasure to serve in this manner and I look forward to continuing this service to the citizens of Fayette County.

The Probate Court not only is the court with the jurisdiction to probate wills, trusts and estates, but also performs many incompetence hearings, and other important tasks and functions. The Probate Court accepts applications for and issues marriage licenses and gun permits. The Judge of Probate Court can even perform marriages, when requested. Many citizens are not aware that it is the custodian of our vital records. If you need your birth certificate, marriage license or other such document that was issued in any county of Georgia, you can go to our Probate Court and obtain a copy of such document without having to go back to the county courthouse where such document was originally issued.

3. What is your experience in supervising employees?

I have been fortunate in my adult life to have had numerous opportunities to interact with and supervise other persons and employees. At the age of sixteen, I worked at Six Flags Over Georgia and spent a summer having fun and supervising other employees. During high school, college and law school, I had various employments – in some I had supervisor authority, and in some I did not.

After law school, I served my country as an attorney in the United States Navy JAG Corp. At my duty station, I was in charge of the base Legal Services Office and supervised other lawyers, military and civilian personnel. After a short period of time, I was charged with overseeing the Legal Services Offices in a supervisory role of numerous other bases and facilities.

I have served as the Managing Partner of several law firms over the years where I not only had the opportunity to supervise employees, but also was in charge of marketing, budgets, collections, personnel decisions, payrolls and generally whatever else was required from day to day to run a successful business.

I have also been the President or on the Board of Directors of numerous civic and charitable organizations. While in most of these positions, I had no supervisor authority over employees; I still had input and decision making authority with regard to the successful management of such organizations and the coordination of volunteers.

4. How efficiently is the current probate court being operated? What changes will you make if elected?

I believe that the current Probate Court is outstanding and as a court system serving its citizens has very few peers. The current employees together have over seventy-five years of service to our community in this Probate Court. Under Judge Stephenson’s leadership the Court is always ready to assist anyone and everyone needing service of the Probate Court.

I see no need for any immediate changes. However, as our county grows, the needs of our citizens will continue to grow and change, so I foresee that we will have to be ready to meet the ever-growing demands on this Court. I believe that I will be able to forge a good working relationship with our County Commissioners and administrators, so that I will be able to implement whatever changes may be required of this court in the future.

The Probate Court is part of our Fayette County Government and all parts of the system need to work together to serve the needs of our citizens. This means that the court facilities should be open to other county departments when needed, as we must all work closely together for our citizens and taxpayers.

Our current Superior Court Judges would like for the Probate Judge to be able to sign uncontested Orders for the Superior Court when the other judges are out of the county participating in other courts within the circuit. I welcome this opportunity to serve, and believe that my prior experience as a judicial officer will allow me to assist the Superior Court in this vital and important role. I believe that all of our courts need to work closely so as to best serve the interests of our great county and her citizens.

5. What makes you a better choice than the other candidates?

I respect the other two candidates in this race and believe them to be worthy adversaries who also want to serve in this position. I believe that either could serve in this position, but believe that I would be the best choice for many reasons. First, I truly look at this opportunity as an avenue of service to my community. My father, who is one of my greatest heroes, told me many years ago, that you should make it a life goal to make sure that in life you do everything in your power to ensure that when you pass away you have always tried to make this world a little better when you leave it, than when you arrived. This is a difficult goal, but one which I believe is worthy of attempting to complete successfully. I have tried to live by his words and have actively been deeply involved in the community in many facets, since Tracy and I became a part of it.

I have the experience as a long-time attorney, judge, business owner, supervisor and volunteer to perform the position which I am seeking. Further, I am the only candidate who has actively worked in and with our Probate Court over the past six years as an integral part of the Fayette County Probate Court system and know its procedures and personnel and how well they work to serve the people of Fayette County.

6. Rate the other two candidates as potential probate court judges.

I respectfully decline to answer this question, as I do not believe that it is relevant or proper. When I commenced this campaign, I pledged to my family, my supporters and mostly to myself, that I would not participate in negative campaigning against either of my opponents. I will not do so now, as it serves no legitimate purpose. I believe that I am the best candidate for the position because of my own talents and experiences and not because of what either of the other candidates may lack or trait they may possess.

I thank you for your understanding and for taking the time to read these answers to the questions posed by Cal Beverly of The Citizen in this online Political Forum.

I look forward to serving as your next Probate Judge of Fayette County.