Age: 55

City of residence: Town of New Glarus

Family: Wife Tracey Schwalbe, married since October 1990; Children Julia, age 24, Mara and David, age 22. Mother, Waltraud "Emy" Gartzke, age 85; father Paul Gartzke, retired Court of Appeals judge, deceased 2009.

Education: Honors Degree in History (Ancient Greek), UW Madison, Dec. 1980; Grosses (and Kleines) Deutsche Sprachdiplom (German as a foreign language), Goethe Institute of Munich, Germany, 1983; Juris Doctorate, UW Madison, June 1986

Occupation: Attorney in private practice since 1986 (currently Gartzke Law Office, S.C. in New Glarus and Madison)

Previous relevant experience: My entire life experience has been relevant to my pending service as judge. First and foremost are my almost 29 years of legal experience in courts and before judges throughout Wisconsin in a variety of civil and criminal matters. I have run my own law firm since 2003. I have had the humbling experience of representing individuals in some of the most stressful situations in their lives, and in representing them fairly and honestly to obtain resolutions that serve them and their families.

I have extensive legal community service. I served as local bar president not only in Green (2000) but also Dane County (2009). I have volunteered legal assistance for low-income families in Dane County, and run the program in Green County for the past five years. I am the current chair for the District 9 Office of Lawyer Regulation committee which investigates ethics complaints against attorneys in Green, Rock, Iowa and Lafayette counties.

I have served my local community in New Glarus in fund-raising for the library, on the village board and on a joint town-village committee to work out areas of cooperation between the two municipalities. I have served on a range of civic improvement groups including the New Glarus Community Foundation, the Wilhelm Tell Guild and the New Glarus Arbor Day project. I have coached the high school mock trial team for 11 years - an activity I have continued even though my children have graduated.

I have been a volunteer to the wider community as a Big Brother since 1986, and have served on the Green County Big Brothers/big Sisters Board since 2009, and as president in 2013. I have given blood through the Red Cross consistently since 1978, and am about to receive my second 10-gallon pin with my next donation.

All of these activities of public and private service are relevant to my qualifications to serve as the next circuit court judge.



What is your judicial philosophy?

I shall have the same judicial philosophy as I have had as an attorney. I shall prepare fully and be prompt and ready. I shall understand the law, analyze the facts, and then apply the law to the facts that are supported by the evidence that is presented to me in court. And I shall decide cases on their merits and merits alone, on the narrowest grounds possible, without consideration of who the parties are in the community, or to whom they are related. I would not look to make wider rulings than are necessary in any given situation. Some may call this a "conservative" judicial philosophy in the sense that it is looking for the most precise ruling, but I call it common sense.



What personal qualities or characteristic, other than fairness and impartiality, would you bring to the bench?

I am diligent in my work ethic. I have a particular aversion and intolerance of bullying in any form, whether it is on the schoolyard, between individuals in a family setting, in the workplace, and especially through the legal system. I am motivated to make sure that every litigant in my court, regardless of who they are or their position, will have a fair opportunity to make his or her case, and obtain a fair result.



Is there a case you have been involved with of which you are particularly proud? And is there a case you have been involved with that, in retrospect, you wish you had handled differently. Please explain.

I have built my legal career over almost 29 years representing individuals, helping them obtain justice through some of the most difficult situations in their lives, whether it was resolving a family crisis such as a divorce, obtaining fair compensation for an injury, or facing criminal charges. I have been proud of my service in every case I have handled.

But since your question asks me to choose one client's case in particular, I will talk about representing the widow of a 63-year-old volunteer firefighter who died after suffering a heart attack while responding to a structural fire at a rural residence. The insurance company claimed that since the man had been "only" serving in a support capacity by hauling firehose through 2 feet of snow, he was not being "sufficiently" stressed to have induced the heart attack. Amazingly, the insurance company hired a paid expert to explain that fighting a fire was no more stressful than any number of normal activities, such as almost getting hit by a car - that is not a typo, that is what the paid expert actually wrote. I fought the case through hearing and appeal, and prevailed. I pursued the case further, and even obtained a penalty award for the insurance company's bad faith denial of the claim when I demonstrated conclusively that the insurance company had actually misrepresented the facts in its investigation. I am proud of how I stood up to this particular bully, and obtained just compensation for the widow.

As for cases I think I should have handled differently, even after almost 29 years of practice, I know I can still improve. In hindsight, I can always think of things to do better. For example, if I reviewed the firefighter case I discussed above which was a resounding victory, I could probably find things I would now do differently to be even more effective.



Do you believe the current criminal/civil court system is effective, or do you believe our current justice system is becoming ineffective? Are there methods or change you would like to see instituted to increase the effectiveness and/or efficiency of our court system?

Our court system is effective but, just as I can always improve my own performance, I know there are ways we can improve justice in our county. For one, we can start on time and make sure our court staff has the full support of the judiciary. We can move cases more efficiently by imposing - and enforcing - deadlines on attorneys. We can improve communication between the judiciary and other stake holders in the system, including the private bar, law enforcement, child support agency, the various county departments that rely on the courts and especially the general public. We can do that by having a judge who is open minded and fair, diligent and prepared.



Why are you the best candidate for this office?

I bring the highest level of commitment. I am not here because of accident of birth, I am here because of my choice. This is where I have chosen to build my practice, raise a family, and improve my community. I will bring my commitment to justice and community improvement to the bench and, together with Judge Vale and a newly-rejuvenated court system, will move this county forward.

The position of judge is a position of honor and trust that must be earned, each and every day. It is never a personal entitlement. The job belongs not to one individual, but to the people of the State of Wisconsin. That is why every circuit court judge in this state must stand for election every six years. We do not have lifetime appointments for judges in this county. The system is therefore set up to allow for choices, and recognition that sometimes a change is appropriate. I think it is time for that change in this county and I bring the breadth of experience, work ethic, and dedication to fairness that is required to make these changes and improvements happen.