Pinellas Judicial Races
Gov. Jeb Bush hasn't even signed the legislation creating two county judge positions for Pinellas and another circuit judge position. But the political jockeying is already under way. St. Petersburg attorney Robert "Bo" Michael, who has run unsuccessfully for judge three times, recently sent a letter announcing his intention to run for a county judgeship to restore public confidence in our local judiciary. He said he plans on launching a media blitz soon, including billboards.
"In order to successfully reach the voters of Pinellas County, I intend to initially fund my campaign with $150,000 of my own money. This figure will be reflected in my campaign report, which will be due at the end of June. I am also prepared to commit additional funds to my campaign," Michael wrote. Some other Pinellas candidates we expect to see in the mix for the positions: former circuit judge candidate Jack Day; Susan Bedinghaus, wife of former Pinellas GOP chairman Paul Bedinghaus; and public defender Lorraine Kelly. More Pinellas Political Junkie here.
"In order to successfully reach the voters of Pinellas County, I intend to initially fund my campaign with $150,000 of my own money. This figure will be reflected in my campaign report, which will be due at the end of June. I am also prepared to commit additional funds to my campaign," Michael wrote. Some other Pinellas candidates we expect to see in the mix for the positions: former circuit judge candidate Jack Day; Susan Bedinghaus, wife of former Pinellas GOP chairman Paul Bedinghaus; and public defender Lorraine Kelly. More Pinellas Political Junkie here.
14 Comments:
At 9:24 AM, May 31, 2006, jpublic said…
Anyone want to bet “Bedinghaus” gets and appointment?
At 9:41 AM, May 31, 2006, Peter Schorsch said…
I mentioned in my blog http://saintpetersblog1.blogspot.com/ yesterday that Susan Bedinghaus will be filing for the Group 17 seat and Lorraine Kelly, who has hired Jack Latvala, will file for the Group 16 seat.
At 10:05 AM, May 31, 2006, jpublic said…
Good info peter, thanks. Jack can line up serious $. Any word on his split from Susan?
Has he had enough of her conversion to Scientology?
At 10:08 AM, May 31, 2006, Peter Schorsch said…
From what I heard, Jack is living on the Steinhatchee, where he owns a car wash. But every time I hear that, I hear he picks up another client. I guess he's lining up his son to take over the family biz.
At 11:00 AM, May 31, 2006, Anonymous said…
That's sucha bs line, by the way, about the unions support for Liz McCallum. She is an absolute darling of the unions and will have their full support, if and when Heller gets in. Maybe The Buzz should check to see why Janet Long did not get union support in H-51, why did the teachers union hold back a check to the county party, etc., etc.
At 11:47 AM, May 31, 2006, p arvy said…
I know susan bedinghaus, but I would hardly say she has judicial temperment. She has barely been an atty for 9 years. A small county job. And yes, Paul likes to throw his weight around, but little girls should stand in line and have more qualifications.
At 2:40 PM, May 31, 2006, Peter Scorsch said…
Expect to see Bo run for the open circuit judgeship, rather than run against his friend Susan Bedinghaus for a county position. With his commitment to spend $150,000 on this race, this is Bo's seat to lose.
At 3:09 PM, May 31, 2006, mbn57 said…
Yeah Right, sounds like the Republicans are self destructing. The Latvala's are not even involved with the party anymore, Bo michael is looking like a parentinial canidate, and rumor has it Bedinghaus just got fired as treasure from Nancy Riley's campaign because he unexpectedly billed Riley over 4k for services rendered, what arrogance. There only stong point is there chairman is raising his canidates huge amounts of money.
At 3:26 PM, May 31, 2006, Peter Schorsch said…
parentinial???
At 5:18 PM, May 31, 2006, Stacy said…
Bo Michael appears to be the modern day equivalent of Pat Paulsen. If you don't know who he is, he was a perennial Presidential candidate in the late 60's-early 70's, plus 1992 and 1996.
At 7:02 AM, June 02, 2006, Acquitalist said…
With all due respect, Stacy, the comparison of Bo Michael with Pat Paulsen is a seriously botched one.
I think the iconic metaphor you may have been reaching for would be Harold Stassen but Bo Michael is not yet of that status. Hear me out
Do not underestimate Bo Michael. He is coming off a very successful professional stint with the prestigious Hernandez law firm in Tampa. Bo Michael has grown. He is charming and intelligent and he is not a bad-looking guy. So what if he is the son of a Judge and may remind people of that. So long as his name is not Bo Downey
True he has run three times but lets have a look at each of the races, shall we? He very nearly won against St.Arnold in 02, having carried Pasco. The last race was, probably or arguably, a tad impulsive. I mean who was going to upend Cathy Hessinger with all her State Attorney buds pulling for her. Plus Judge Hessinger was a ferociously successful insurance defense lawyer who was a pretty formidable defender of Docs in malpractice lawsuits. She had the right gender. As did Judge Myra McNary Bo's opponent in his first bid in 2000 -who happened also to be an incumbent African American woman! Being one of the few African Americans on the Bench, she was going to be protected, as she was, by the St. Pete Times. In fairness to Bo, she did not need to be replaced and the campaign against her might have been a tad oppurtunistic and maybe cynical.
Bo Michael has been in private practice. Lorriane Kelly, who is really sweet and an excellent Public Defender and Susan Bedinghaus, who strikes me as a partisan hack, have, all due respect, had their life tubes fastened to the government bosom.
Judges are in one respect at the top of the government lawyer food chain. While we have an excellent judiciary in Pinellas and Pasco, one has to ask the question who runs for or seeks judicial appoinments. Accomplished and experienced lawyers seeking to cap a career with service to the public or careerists looking for a no stress, no-overhead salary. title , a robe and a suh-weeet pension? I mean how hard is it to ask a series of questions and place somebody on probation? Again we have great Judges in Pinellas County but Carolyn Fulmer, who is the Chief Judge of the Second District Court of Appeal has never had anyone scratch a check for her services and she could not earn her hat size in the private sector. Actually, not only was Carolyn Fulmer an unaccomplished lawyer, she was a particuarly bad circuit judge managing to badly mangle the Bradley McGee case in the 1980's but I digress. That was Polk County's problem
I agree with Peter Schorsch's observation. With the aformentioned experience, and 150k in the bank - a sick amount of money for a county Judge race - this race is Bo's to lose.
At 10:20 AM, June 02, 2006, Stacy said…
acquitalist:
I said he "appears" to be like Pat Paulsen, by virtue of the number of times he has run for judge. I did not, and would not, question, Mr. Michael's qualifications. I also do not doubt he would make a fine judge.
I agree with Peter that throwing 150K into the pot is good, but the race is still not his to lose by virtue of money.
Case in point: Max Gessner, a gentleman I greatly respect, who ran for re-election in 2002. He outraised his opponent (approx.) 75K to 6K, and she won. Thus, proving there is more to winning an election than just raising a lot of dough.
At 3:05 AM, June 05, 2006, kelly4judge said…
Yes, Lorraine Kelly is experienced as these excerpts from her resume show. Technically, no one is a candidate yet; however, when Lorraine is allowed to file qualifying papers, her name will be among the persons seeking a county
judge position.
Lisa Fink,
Co-chair for the
Committee to Elect Lorraine Kelly for County Judge
RESUME
Lorraine M. Kelly
463 – 24th Avenue North
St. Petersburg, FL 33704
Home: (727) 821-1183
Cellular: (727) 542-6849
E-mail: lorrainemaureenkelly@yahoo.com
EDUCATION
1983 University of South Florida B.A.
1986 University of South Florida M.A.
1990 Florida State University Candidate for Ph.D.
1993 Florida State University J.D.
LEGAL EMPLOYMENT
1/92 – 8/92 Law Clerk, Volunteer Lawyers’ Resource
Center
Help lawyers prepare federal post-habeas corpus
petitions for Florida inmates on death row. Mark
Olive, Director
Spring 1992 Judicial Intern, First District Court of
Appeal for the Honorable
Michael E. Allen
Prepare case summaries and conduct legal research.
8/92 – 12/92 Student Attorney for the Children’s
Advocacy Center, FSU
Legal representation of children in dependency and
juvenile proceedings.
9/90 – 7/96 Law Clerk and Attorney for Wilson Jerry
Foster, Esquire
Perform all clerical tasks required for a sole
practitioner law office including billing, direct mail
solicitation, trust account maintenance and monthly
accounting. Represent medical health care
professionals in administrative proceedings before
their licensing boards, and prosecute unfair debt
collection cases.
8/96 – present Assistant Public Defender for the
Honorable Robert Dillinger
Represent indigent people in county and circuit court
in criminal, juvenile and involuntary civil commitment
proceedings.
ACADEMIC EMPLOYMENT
8/84 – 7/86 Graduate Teaching Assistant, USF
Department of English
8/86 – 5/90 Graduate Teaching Assistant, FSU
Department of English
3/94 – now Adjunct Faculty, Eckerd College Program for
Experienced
Learners
I teach a variety of classes including: Western
Heritage in a Global Context, I and II; Life, Learning
and Vocation; Analytical and Persuasive Writing;
Writing Processes, Quest for Meaning; and Resourceful
Writing.
TRIAL EXPERIENCE
31 Jury trials (23 felony: 8 of this number includes
multiple day involuntary civil commitment trials and
two second chair, non-capital murder trials; 8
misdemeanor)
24 Non-jury trials in juvenile delinquency proceedings
HONORS, AWARDS & FELLOWSHIPS
Nominated Teaching Assistant of the Year 1987 – 1988
Leadership Award for Outstanding Service to the 1988
– 1989
College of Arts & Sciences, Florida State
University
Nominated Volunteer of the Year, Tallahassee Democrat
1990
Book Award: “Women and the Law,” FSU College of Law
Fall 1991
Recognition of Generous Service, FSU Student Bar
Assoc. 1991 – 1992
Extra-Mile Award, Guardian Ad Litem Program 1993
Public Service Fellowship from the Florida Bar
Foundation 1990 – 1993
Service Recognition, Community Law Program Volunteer
1993 – 1995
Assistant Public Defender of the Year, Office of the
Public 2001
Defender, The Honorable Robert Dillinger
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
During my graduate work in Tallahassee I worked with
the youth of my church and we participated in
community outreach at the Leon County START Center, a
detention facility designed to divert young boys from
a life of crime. I was struck by two things during
those events: 1) these children, who appeared to be
hopeless cases on paper, were, in person, energetic
boys who when supervised and nurtured had an immense
capacity for joy and productive activity; (2) our
juvenile justice system had seen fit to provide a
final chance to these boys before turning them over to
the adult system. The court had exercised mercy and
given these boys hope.
My work as a guardian ad litem representing children
in civil and criminal proceedings in court was equally
enlightening and shaping. In dependency actions,
termination of parental rights cases, and criminal
cases, I saw the court make difficult decisions and
grapple with complex emotional and constitutional
issues. These activities gave me a view of and
appreciation for the significant cases a judge faces
everyday.
Now, seeing the judicial system from the perspective
of a criminal defense lawyer, I have an even greater
appreciation for the demands placed on the judiciary:
the weighty, long reaching decisions a judge must
preside over every day, many times each day—balancing
the importance of protecting the community along side
the constitutional protections afforded the accused.
As adjunct faculty for the Program for Experienced
Learners for the past thirteen years, I’ve had the
privilege of instructing and spending time with the
highly motivated, intelligent adults who study and
finish their degrees at Eckerd College. Working with
these exceptional individuals, including other faculty
and staff, has inculcated in me the importance of
being a servant leader and reinforced for me the moral
imperative of giving back to others from the immense
bounty I enjoy as a result of the education and social
structure our country has afforded to me.
Doubtless, I bring a heart for the underdog with me to
all my endeavors, but this is scrupulously tempered by
a strong regard for the law and in accord with the
Code of Professional Conduct.
People have it in them to do the right thing. A good
judge can help people do this by serving as an
instrument of encouragement and direction. Extreme
circumstances and strong feelings often accompany the
people who find themselves in the courts. A good
judge can empower the parties to see that they have
the ability to choose their response to a given set of
circumstances when there is little else within their
control; a judge can guide parties toward reasonable
and equitable resolutions to conflicts.
A deep sense of joy gives me an abiding inner strength
and motivates me to help people. These qualities
manifest themselves in a day-to-day consistency that
informs my work ethic and makes me an efficient and
energetic participant in the judicial system and in
our community. Serving as an Assistant Public
Defender for nearly ten years has sharpened my ability
to work with challenging and demanding people in the
most difficult of circumstances. I have an infectious
enthusiasm for consensus building and I find great
personal satisfaction in performing complex tasks well
and in a timely manner. My intense commitment to
fairness coupled with a courteous, consistent and
even-tempered demeanor help me in all my activities.
I believe my moral structure and personality type,
combined with my work ethic and experience, will make
me a very good judge in the people’s court.
REFERENCES
Honorable Robert Dillinger, Public Defender, Sixth
Judicial Circuit, 14250 – 49th Street North,
Clearwater, FL 33762. Phone (727) 464-6516.
Wilson Jerry Foster, Esquire, 1342 Timberlane Road,
Suite 102-A, Tallahassee, Fl 32312. Phone (850)
894-1569.
Jean Higham, Assistant Public Defender, 14250 – 49th
Street North, Clearwater, FL 33762. Phone (727)
464-6516.
Robert M. Tager, Esquire, 300 Gulf to Bay Blvd., Suite
216, Clearwater, FL 33759. Phone (727) 723-1616.
Tobias L. Pardue, Esquire, 14004 Roosevelt Blvd.,
Suite 603, Clearwater, FL 33762. Phone (727)
536-5008.
Margret Skaftadotir, Ph.D., Director of Eckerd College
Program for Experienced Learners, Franklin Templeton
Building, 4200 – 54th Avenue South, St. Petersburg, FL
33711. Phone (727) 864-8226.
Catherine Griggs, Ph.D., Associate Professor and
Program Coordinator for American Studies, Eckerd
College Program for Experienced Learners, Franklin
Templeton Building, 4200 – 54th Avenue South, St.
Petersburg, FL 33711. Phone (727) 864-8226
Gregory Baird. Assistant State Attorney, Office of the
State Attorney, Sixth Judicial Circuit, 14250 - 49th
Street North, Clearwater, FL 33762. Phone (727)
464-6221.
Thea Dalkalitsis, former Assistant State Attorney,
Deacon and Moulds, P.A., 100 – 2nd Avenue South, Suite
902-S, St. Petersburg, FL 33701. Phone (727) 551-
0000.
WRITING SAMPLE
Available on request.
At 11:52 PM, June 06, 2006, Lacquittalist said…
Rumor abounds that Jeb Bush, idiot savante, who is so cheap he delays the appointment of Judges to save money, is going to veto the three new seats.
-Watch for Mary Handsel to emerge as the favorite in the race with her Chris Hellinger and Glenn Martin. Martin is too prosecutorial, Hellinger too much of a PD weenie and Handsell mmmmm just right. Bob Dillinger is not loved by all. The Columbia grad can be arrogant and aloof but he is no Julie Holt.
-Pat Siracausa will trounce Leanne Lake, gender notwithstanding. Siracusa is a skilled courthouse poltician and Lake is squirrely and not that well regarded in the centralized 49th street popolus.
-Lorraine Kelly versus Bo Michael will be a dogfight but my money is on Bo's.
-Can you believe Catherine Real, the most despised attorney in the state of Florida has the gall to put her name on the ballott?? Bob Foster will scorch her. Real is a widley despised family law practitioner famous for "shaking down" estranged husbands and wives. She has been grieved innumerbale times to the Florida Bar BY LAWYERS MANY OF WHOM ARE EX-EMPLOYEES. Her diminutive dwarfiness coupled with her snoutish and abrasive midgetry render her candidacy a case study in hubris. One cannot imagine a more horrible Judge or any sort of public servant than Catherine Real whio practiced with a dead emascualted latin male named Richard Muga, never a legal giant. JQC ready your engines if this ogre sneaks through.
posted by Lacquittalist at 8:31 PM | 0 comments
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