MONROE - Thomas Vale wants to be Green County's second circuit court judge.
Late last year the Legislature approved a second judge for the county based on an increased caseload handled by Green County Circuit Court Judge James Beer.
The election for a second circuit court judge is scheduled for April 2009, with the winner to take office in August 2009.
Vale, a partner at Duxstad, Vale and Bestul in Monroe as well as city attorney for Albany, New Glarus and Monticello, is the first to declare his candidacy for the second judicial position.
"I decided to announce now so that it doesn't get lost with the other elections," Vale said.
The presidential election will dominate the news for the next several months, he said, and he thought this was a good time to declare his candidacy.
"We won't have a lot of activity until the national and state elections are over," he said. "In December we'll be circulating nomination papers."
Vale said the job of a judge isn't to have an agenda but to move cases along and handle them fairly.
"I think my years in private practice have given me the broad legal experience a circuit court judge needs to handle the wide variety of cases brought before him," Vale said, in a statement released today. "Green County needs a judge who understands the law, who is fair and firm and reflects the social values of the community."
Vale's experience includes representing clients in family law cases, criminal and traffic cases and various types of civil litigation. He also has represented farm and small business clients and does estate and probate work. He's also taught a course about law at the University of Wisconsin Law School.
Vale has been active in several civic organizations, including the Monroe Jaycees, and has been on several community organization boards, including the Monroe Arts Center, the Monroe Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Swiss A.L.P.S. playground project.
He is a member of the Monroe United Methodist Church and served as a volunteer coach for many Green County Family YMCA teams.
Vale is married to Karen, a pharmacist at Schultz Pharmacy in Monroe. They have three children; Erin, a freshman at University of Wisconsin-Madison; Dan, a junior at Monroe High School; and Eric, a sixth-grader at Monroe Middle School.
Vale is a graduate of UW-Madison, and received his law degree from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. He is a member and past president of the Green County Bar Association.
Late last year the Legislature approved a second judge for the county based on an increased caseload handled by Green County Circuit Court Judge James Beer.
The election for a second circuit court judge is scheduled for April 2009, with the winner to take office in August 2009.
Vale, a partner at Duxstad, Vale and Bestul in Monroe as well as city attorney for Albany, New Glarus and Monticello, is the first to declare his candidacy for the second judicial position.
"I decided to announce now so that it doesn't get lost with the other elections," Vale said.
The presidential election will dominate the news for the next several months, he said, and he thought this was a good time to declare his candidacy.
"We won't have a lot of activity until the national and state elections are over," he said. "In December we'll be circulating nomination papers."
Vale said the job of a judge isn't to have an agenda but to move cases along and handle them fairly.
"I think my years in private practice have given me the broad legal experience a circuit court judge needs to handle the wide variety of cases brought before him," Vale said, in a statement released today. "Green County needs a judge who understands the law, who is fair and firm and reflects the social values of the community."
Vale's experience includes representing clients in family law cases, criminal and traffic cases and various types of civil litigation. He also has represented farm and small business clients and does estate and probate work. He's also taught a course about law at the University of Wisconsin Law School.
Vale has been active in several civic organizations, including the Monroe Jaycees, and has been on several community organization boards, including the Monroe Arts Center, the Monroe Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Swiss A.L.P.S. playground project.
He is a member of the Monroe United Methodist Church and served as a volunteer coach for many Green County Family YMCA teams.
Vale is married to Karen, a pharmacist at Schultz Pharmacy in Monroe. They have three children; Erin, a freshman at University of Wisconsin-Madison; Dan, a junior at Monroe High School; and Eric, a sixth-grader at Monroe Middle School.
Vale is a graduate of UW-Madison, and received his law degree from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. He is a member and past president of the Green County Bar Association.