Patrick Bodell

Monroe

To the Editor:

I would like to share my thoughts about the upcoming 2021 Green County judicial election. We have four respectable candidates on the ballot. They all have a passion for service in the county. However, this is not a legislative election, nor a popularity contest. This is not about voting for a candidate because you’re friends, or they seem nice, or because of a party affiliation. This is an election that will affect every citizen in the county directly or indirectly. The fact is Peter Kelly is by far the most experienced, accomplished, and qualified to take the bench.

A judicial position is one that an attorney should pursue at the pinnacle of their courtroom experience, after many decades observing how a courtroom should operate. Mr. Kelly has been practicing law for over 35 years and is endorsed by southern Wisconsin judges who actually observed him in their courtrooms.  

Peter Kelly is highly educated, with many diplomas, certifications, and accolades that prove his commitment to lifelong learning. Peter is a rare example of someone that exemplifies the academic ability a judge requires. 

Mr. Kelly has spent 10 years counseling men that have domestic violence, anger management and substance abuse issues. With his master’s degree in counseling, he can fulfill the definite need on the bench for someone who professionally understands domestic violence, drug addiction and how to help those offenders in our Branch 1 Drug Court break that cycle of addiction and abuse. 

Besides his general law practice, he has also served for decades as a Guardian ad Litem representing the best interests of children and vulnerable adults. He is the only candidate who was a Family Court Mediator, a volunteer for the Supreme Court’s Office of Lawyer Regulation, and is the longest serving candidate at Green County’s free legal clinic. This all demonstrates the altruistic service that Mr. Kelly has been living for his almost four decades of legal practice.  

Mr. Kelly was asked by our two judges to serve every year for the last decade as a Green County Court Commissioner to assist the judges by signing search warrants, approving probable cause statements, and presiding over the courtroom when a judge is not available.  

I will be voting for Peter Kelly because he is, without question, the most qualified candidate to preside over our Green Count Court Branch 1.