Voters in Perry and Pulaski counties, called on to select a replacement for retiring Circuit Judge Mary McGowan, have two candidates to choose from: Perry County District Judge Andy Gill and Little Rock attorney LaTonya Austin, who finished third in last year's race for Little Rock District Court.
McGowan, 72, was first elected in 1990 and is one of six judges leaving the Little Rock-based 6th Judicial Circuit, mainly because of a state law that requires judges, who are elected to office after they turn 70, to forfeit their retirement benefits.
Early voting is underway and runs through Monday. Judicial elections are Tuesday.
McGowan's successor as 9th Division judge will inherit a court that will have a docket consisting of 70% family law and 30% probate cases. Circuit judges earn $168,096 per year and are elected for six-year terms.
Both candidates carry a wealth of experience into the race.
"I am a born and bred Pulaski County resident, who has served this [county] and Perry County through my legal work since I was licensed to practice law in 2002," Austin said.
The 43-year-old Austin, a defense attorney, ex-prosecutor and former Little Rock city attorney, said she has the wider scope of experience, having served as a special judge and practiced domestic relations, civil and criminal law, along with probate and juvenile law.
She said her background "makes me uniquely and compassionately qualified to serve the residents of Pulaski and Perry counties."
Last year, Austin ran for Little Rock District Court, winning about 25% of the vote, or 10,546 ballots out of the 41,412 votes cast. The seat ultimately went to Melanie Martin in a runoff, with Austin falling short of qualifying for the runoff by about 300 votes.
Licensed in 2005, Gill, 44, is a former prosecutor who has been Perry County's district judge for the past seven years. He said the "invaluable" experience of managing a courtroom makes him the best candidate, particularly as the circuit bench loses its most senior judges.
"The 6th Judicial District is losing 155 years of judicial experience with the upcoming retirements of six circuit judges," Gill said. "Being a judge is different than being an advocate in the courtroom as a lawyer. Being an elected judge with the responsibility to set court policies and manage a docket is different than occasionally sitting as a special judge for an individual case. For seven years I have been the person responsible for court policy, the docket, and the outcome of individual cases."
Gill said he takes unique compassion to the bench, referring to influence from his childhood days when his parents were house parents for disabled young adults. He said his post-college work as a mental-health case manager at the State Hospital also helped shape his world view.
"I saw firsthand the challenges and prejudices that people with mental and physical disabilities face on a daily basis," he said. "Life can be hard. Most of the time if people are in the courthouse, it is because they are facing a significant challenge. Sometimes it is financial. Sometimes it is personal. I believe that my experiences help me understand where people are coming from and help me craft solutions that matter."
Austin's father was a pastor and civil-rights leader, and her mother is an ordained minister and advocate. She said they inspired her to pursue a legal career.
"Representing the voiceless and choiceless is my divine calling. I can speak and cry loud for them," Austin said.
She said her career and experience growing up in Pulaski County have taught her empathy that will make her a successful judge.
"Though I have not experienced everything that the people appearing before me might have experienced, I can empathize with their situations because my real-life experiences have taught me to listen, be compassionate and render judgment without passing judgment," Austin said. "This attribute ... helps me personalize my clients. It helps me to bring them alive to make them more than a two-dimensional summary on a sheet of paper."
Gill said he embraced a legal career out of an interest in public service.
"I didn't go to college expecting to go on to law school. In fact, I worked several years before enrolling. I decided to go to law school because I felt it would give me a skill to offer my community," he said. "Service has always been important to me, and when I was approached with the idea of running for district judge, I jumped at the opportunity. I almost immediately felt that I had found my calling. It has not been easy, but it has been incredibly rewarding. I have seen the differences that courts can make in people's lives, and I want to continue to be a part of that."
Gill, who counts retired Circuit Judge Marion Humphrey and defense attorney Jeff Rosenzweig among his supporters, said his greatest professional accomplishments include being honored as Drug Court Lawyer of the Year in 2018 by the Arkansas Drug Court Professionals Association and being part of the team that established the state's first H.O.P.E (Honest Opportunity Probation with Enforcement) court in Saline County.
Austin said her most gratifying moments as a lawyer have come when she's been able to succeed for her clients. One of those instances was in 2018 when she helped a man who had just spent 40 years in prison for capital murder register to vote, she said.
"He had served his time. All he wanted to do when he got out of prison was register to vote," she said. "I helped someone restore a right. This, by far, is one of my greatest accomplishments ... assisting someone restore a fundamental right."
In 2013, Austin said she was able to keep a fixed-income elderly client in Jefferson County from losing her home in a divorce after a marriage that lasted only six months in a relationship that had lasted 20 years.
Austin said she hasn't collected very many endorsements, preferring instead to concentrate on developing her supporters.
"The people mean more to me than endorsements. This is important to me because it is the will of the people, the faith of the people, and the vote of the people that will get me elected," she said. "Endorsements don't always translate to a vote, but I am grateful for the ones I have."
The state Department of Finance and Administration reported Wednesday that Austin owes balances totaling more than $13,000 resulting from three state tax liens. Austin said she has been making payments to the department since she entered into a payment plan in mid-2017 for state taxes owed from 2013, 2014 and 2015.
According to the latest figures available from the secretary of state's office, Gill reports $75,550 in contributions with $65,496 in expenditures. His top five donors are Robert Hill Jr. of Perryville, self-employed agriculture; Oren Davis, retired, of Perryville; Jeremy Roberts of Greenbrier, law enforcement; Lisenne Rockefeller, widow of the late lieutenant governor, each of whom contributed $2,800; and David Gill of Little Rock, $2,500.
Austin shows that she has collected $21,221 in contributions and spent $25,008. Her top-five donors are Alex Bradford, who contributed $1,500; Protax and Accounting Services of Sherwood, $1,200; followed by $500 each from Janis Kearney of Little Rock, the Progressive Arkansas Women political action committee and Michelle Nelson of Maumelle.
The race for McGowan's seat is unique in that it's the only contest that is open to all voters in Perry and Pulaski counties under the Hunt Decree, the 1992 court settlement that resolved a federal Voting Rights Act lawsuit intended to expand black representation in Arkansas' judiciary.
The agreement requires five of the 17 circuit judges in the 6th Judicial Circuit to be elected from 37 predominately black precincts in the southeastern third of Pulaski County. The other 11 judges are elected from Perry County and the remaining 99 Pulaski County precincts, generally in the northwest two-thirds of the county.
Metro on 02/28/2020