Three Rivers Mayor Tom Lowry has endorsed the candidacy of John Barnes for the position of Probate Judge in St. Joseph County. Here’s the text of Lowry’s endorsement, submitted to the River Country Journal by the Committee to Elect John L. Barnes for Probate Judge:
John has the experience to recognize the need in that seat, and the courage to announce his candidacy for it. He is the only candidate to announce his intentions before the current judge announced his intent to retire. That impresses me.
Having been a foster parent for nearly 7 years and having worked or crossed paths with nearly all of the candidates under consideration in family court and directly with Judge Shumaker on one occasion, my preference is going to be towards Mr. Tomlinson. Some of the other candidates (which I will not name) are great attorneys that are very passionate and articulate in their profession, but I have seen act and represent more on the side of parents rights rather than the foster kids side of things. Not so with Mr. Tomlinson as he was our foster son’s (now adopted) court appointed attorney in a precedent setting case and he was an excellent balance of knowledge and level headed approach in saying just the right things and acting in just the right manner at just the right times. And I have seen him work on the other side of the fence representing parents in the system as well. I think we need someone that has that balance with maybe leaning slightly more in favor of the kids side of things who the real victims in need of protecting.
I appreciate your comment, Scott. The Probate Court deals with vulnerable people and complicated issues and the balance between knowledge and judgement can make a huge difference in how people feel at the end of the process. There are restrictions on what judicial candidates can say on their own behalf so it is helpful to hear about real experiences that people have had with them.