As I noted earlier, the South Belt Area Republicans held a forum for three of the judicial races that went to a runoff after the primary election. Being a relatively new club, I wasn’t sure what to expect but was impressed with the turnout and professionalism of the club. Plus, they had free food!
Cllub Vice President Angelina Gooden was the MC for the forum and board member Chris McDonald was the timekeeper. Each candidate for the two family courts was given three minutes for an opening statement, then three questions were asked with a response from each candidate, and finally a 30 second closing statement. In the criminal court race, a fourth question was added.
247th Family Court
This race features front runner John Schmude vs the associate judge of the court, Judge M. L. Walker.
)
For more on the candidates, visit their websites:
311th Family Court
This race features incumbent and primary election vote leader Judge Denise Pratt vs Alicia Franklin.
)
For more on the candidates, visit their websites:
Harris County Criminal Court 10
This race features frontrunner Dan Spjut vs Tonya McLaughlin.
)
For more on the candidates, visit their websites:
Commentary
Obviously the “hot” race here is the 311th because of Judge Denise Pratt’s very poor rating from the Houston bar and the volume of complaints coming from attorneys practicing in her court and from families that have been affected by her rulings. If you went into this forum “blind”, i.e., not knowing anything about Judge Pratt’s problems, it is likely that you came away with a good impression of her. Her opponent, Alicia Franklin, needs to remember that this is a political contest and needs to sharply contrast her abilities with Judge Pratt’s, as well as pointing out the shortcomings of Judge Pratt. One of the problems that any candidate has is remembering that the public doesn’t know what you know and you must inform them.
In the 247th, John Schmude is a very good candidate – he understands that he cannot compete with Judge Walker in the areas of overall experience or judicial qualifications, so he focuses on the things that appeal to voters. He is a family man, she is single without children. He was denied adoption because he listed his faith on a form. He thinks it is unconstitutional for a judge to require that a mother or father complete a parenting class before they can visit their children. Judge Walker needs to stress her experience more and focus on her expertise of the law.
As for CC10, this was one of the races that I had to decide on without interviewing the candidates on the ballot. After talking to different people, looking at the slate cards, and watching all of the candidates at the Downtown Houston Pachyderm Club, I voted for McLaughlin. At this particular forum, she was very confident and projected that well. Dan Spjut needs to hone his speaking skills but he has a very interesting background and story to tell. A former undercover cop isn’t going to be fooled easily by a defendant in front of his bench. I am going to be able to interview both of them for the runoff so that we’ll have a better idea of their candidacies.
It was good to see a full house for this forum, including Cypress Texas Tea Party founder David Wilson – that’s quite a drive for him but underscores how committed he is to informing his members. The more we inform ourselves, the more we can inform and influence others. I think that if you take the time to watch each of the videos above, you’ll have a much better understanding of the candidates than 90{997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986} of primary voters have.
excellent synopsis.
The claim that someone was denied the opportunity to adopt because they indicated theirr religious faith on an adoption form sounds suspect to me. I would be interested in more details. Did the birth parent ask for or insist upon an adopting family of her particular religion or denomination?
The adoption wasn’t a private adoption. If we were approved, it would have been through CPS. As John indicated in his speech, we were told that a placement would be “unlikely” – saying that we were denied an adoption would not be accurate. It should be noted that we went through nearly a year of classes and training because we were interested in adopting a sibling group in need of a “forever home.” It was not until the social study was completed that were informed that it is unlikely that Harris County CPS would select us for placement. As John mentioned, the reason given to us was that 1) we were considered to be a “traditional family” (not sure what was meant by that), and 2) we had referenced our faith in the Questionaire that was submitted to us. I just wanted to make sure the record is accurate.
Mrs. Schmude,
I do not believe your explanation regarding the circumstances surrounding your adoption application. To be very frank, I think that you and your husband are trying to mislead the public into believing that CPS would not grant an adoption or place a child in your care because your family is a “traditional family” or because you put your faith on a questionnaire. Did you and your husband file a suit against CPS for discriminating against you because of your religion?
Big Jolly, can you verify the facts because they stink?