Candidates for new judicial post speak at forum

Well, the candidate forum went pretty well, but you wouldn't know it from the coverage in the Hattiesburg American. It doesn't seem like my best outing:

PURVIS - The names of five judicial candidates were scribbled in orange crayon on slips of paper before one slip was drawn, determining who would speak first at the forum held at the multi-purpose center here Tuesday night.
Aaron L. Russell of Picayune began the forum and was followed by other candidates Jerry A. Evans, Alex Ignatiev, Gene Fair and Deborah Gambrell, all of Hattiesburg.
Running for the Chancery Court District 10, Post 4 - a new position created by the Legislature - the candidates took turns painting pictures of their childhood and sharing their professional backgrounds.
About 30 residents from Purvis and the surrounding areas were present at the forum - the last in a series of three - that was open to the public and sponsored by the Lamar County Republican Party to inform voters.
Attorney Dale Beavers, chair of the group, invited each candidate to give a 10-minute speech and answer questions. Though minimal, most discussion centered on the duties and behaviors of a chancery court judge.
"Sometimes, you'll have to make a decision on the spot," said Russell, an attorney and chief deputy in Pearl River County. "It can be tough, but the judge should have experience and education to handle it."
More than experience, longtime attorney Evans believes common sense is needed.
"Common sense is the most important value a judge can take into office," he said. "I've noticed more and more instances when the law is not taking exceptions into consideration or thinking about how it affects families. Common sense is needed to guide that."
Fair, who has practiced law in Hattiesburg for more than 20 years, said: "A judge has to be a teacher as much as anything else. They have to know what the system is capable of doing and understand what's it's not capable of doing."
Gambrell, whose served as Forrest County Justice Court Judge for 25 years, agreed, adding a judge should not be afraid to stand by a decision he or she makes.
"There will be a time when you have to make a hard decision," she said. "But when I go home at night and I sleep, I know I've done the right thing. To me, that's judicial integrity. And a judge has to have it."
Ignatiev, an attorney and 2001 graduate of the University of Mississippi School of Law, said he believes a judge always should have respect for everyone in the litigation process.
"Just because the law has no respect of person doesn't mean a judge should take it so far that there's no respect of people," he said. "They should always remember the human element."
Oak Grove resident S.F. Carlisle said the forum helped him know about whom he should vote for in the non-partisan election Nov. 7.
"I've been around politics for years and years," he said. "But I still needed to be informed and so do other voters."

I wrote in to the Corrections department with the following letter:

I greatly appreciate the Hattiesburg American and their coverage of the judicial campaigns in the Pine Belt. As a candidate for Chancery District 10, Post 4, I was glad to see Brittany Brown covering the judicial forum on August 15 in Lamar County. My sole complaint is that I was misquoted.
I stated, "There is a saying that lawyers are fond of: the law is no respecter of persons. But just because the law is not a respecter of persons doesn't mean that a judge should take it so far that there's no respect for people." The saying 'the law is no respecter of persons' means that all people of all classes, races, creeds, and both genders will be treated equally. That equality before the law is the most precious value that a good judge preserves.
Thank you, and continue the good work.

Donation information

Several people have asked me to provide donation information on the blog, so here it is:

Due to the vagaries of Mississippi judicial campaign finance laws, I cannot directly solicit money from people, and am required to form a committee to ask for those funds. I cannot receive funds directly, either. The committee can accept up to a maximum of $2500.00 from any single donor; all donations from a single donor aggregating to $200.00 or more are reported by name of donor to the Secretary of State for Elections. Donations are not tax deductible. Donations may be used for campaign materials, campaign expenses, and to reimburse the candidate for campaign related expenses.

My campaign committee chairman is Ryan Schilling. The campaign committee is Friends of Alex Ignatiev. The campaign committee address is Friends of Alex Ignatiev, P.O. Box 887, Hattiesburg, MS 39403-0887.

Thanks for the interest.