A Write-In Candidacy for the 10th District

Hello, my friends. I am reopening this blog today. It was announced earlier this week by the State of Mississippi's Board of Election Commissioners that Judge Thomas's vacant post in the 10th Chancery District will be subject to a write-in election. While I and many of the attorneys in the district disagree with this decision, some of us feel the call to service strongly.

I am a candidate for Post One in District Ten. Four years ago, I ran in my first judicial election. It was an important professional and personal experience. Through the process, I met many new friends and learned a great deal about the challenges facing the 10th District. I have served hundreds of clients in the chancery courts since then. I have been appointed as a guardian ad litem in the chancery courts of the 10th and 19th Districts, and in the Youth Court of Forrest County. I am licensed in all courts, state and federal, in Mississippi, including the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.

I am presently a member of Christ the Saviour Orthodox Church in McComb, and a member of the Holy Cross Mission of the Orthodox Church in America here in Hattiesburg. I serve as the secretary of the parish council at Christ the Saviour, and have done so for the past two years. From 2003 to 2004, I served as the secretary of the Hattiesburg Area Young Lawyer's Association.

I was blessed to marry Tina on May 25th, 2008. Marriage changes a man, and in my case, for the better. While we presently have no children, we have two cats and a dog.

The 10th Chancery District will have many qualified candidates in this election. I am the only candidate under 35 years of age, with a luxurious beard, and a Russian surname.

Thank you for your consideration.