Meet Christy Edwards, your presumptive, new Court of Civil Appeals, Place 1 Judge
In the race for Alabama Court of Civil Appeals Place 1, three candidates stepped up to the plate seeking election in the June 5 primary. Judge Christy Edwards and Judge Michelle Thomason both garnered enough support to tip the race into a runoff election in which Edwards took home 54 percent of the vote. Now, facing no Democratic challenger in the November general election, Edwards has presumably won her race and will become Court of Civil Appeals Place 1 Judge in 2019. With that in mind, here are the five things you need to know about Christy Edwards: 1. She’s a judge on the Alabama Tax Court. In 2016 Edwards was appointed to the Alabama Tax Tribunal where she currently serves as a Judge. According to her campaign website, she wants to bring her knowledge of tax laws to bear on the appeals process. “Everyone has to pay taxes – businesses, business owners, consumers and regular people,” Edwards said. “The businesses and the people of this state need a judge who will oversee the tax laws and protect the taxpayers according to all the laws overseen by this court. I will do that.” 2. She’s an award-winning writer and orator. In law school Edwards was the Regional Champion of the American Bar Association’s appellate advocacy competition, Regional Champion and national quarter finalist of the National Best Brief competition, and was named Jones Law School Best Oral Advocate. Her most recent articles have been published in the Journal of Multi-State Taxation and Incentives. 3. She was endorsed by primary opponent Pat Thetford. Primary opponent Pat Thetford endorsed Edwards, saying he believed she is the best candidate for the job and urged his supporters to vote for her in the runoff election. 4. She has two degrees from Alabama. After completing a bachelor’s degree in Finance and Economics from the University of Alabama, Edwards earned her Juris Doctorate from Faulkner University Jones School of Law and an LL.M. from the University of Alabama School of Law with a focus on complex state tax laws. 5. She previously served as an Assistant Attorney General. Edwards practiced family and commercial and civil litigation in her own private practice for 2 years after law school. She then was appointed to serve as an attorney for the court of civil appeals before becoming an Assistant Attorney General under then Attorney General Luther Strange in 2011. There, she represented the state in state and local tax disputes in the Alabama Department of Revenue.
Wetumpka TEA Party hosts GOP candidate meet and greet
The Wetumpka TEA Party will host the River Region Candidate Fair on Monday evening from 6:30-8:30 p.m. for candidates running in the 2018 Republican primary election. Over 40 candidates have confirmed their attendance for the event, which will be held at the Wetumpka Civic Center. Advertised as a “meet & greet,” the event will allow Alabamians to meet each candidate individually and ask them questions about the position they are seeking, rather than listen to speeches and debates. The Wetumpka TEA party will also be conducting a straw poll at the end of the night, with results posted Tuesday morning. “Our mission at the Wetumpka TEA Party is to educate citizens on national, state and local issues and help them get involved in our representative government,” said Wetumpka Tea Party founder Becky Gerritson. “It is important that people vote for their elected officials because they know what the candidates stand for and do not just rely on 30 second commercials and attractive yard signs. This is a terrific opportunity to meet the candidates who are running for an elected position, to ask them questions and understand what each candidate stands for.” The following candidates have confirmed their attendance on Monday night: CONSTITUTIONAL OFFICES Governor: Bill Hightower, Kay Ivey, Scott Dawson, Tommy Battle (will send a representative) Lieutenant Governor: Will Ainsworth, Twinkle Cavanaugh, Rusty Glover Attorney General: Chess Bedsole, Troy King, Alice Martin Auditor: Stan Cooke, Elliott Lipinsky, Jim Zeigler Secretary of State: Michael Johnson, John Merrill Treasurer: Stephen Evans, John McMillan Commissioner for Agriculture and Industries: Gerald Dial, Rick Pate (will send a representative) STATE LEGISLATURE Alabama House of Representatives 31: Dustin DeVaughn, Mike Holmes Alabama House of Representatives 88: Al Booth Alabama Senate 25: Will Barfoot, Ronda Walker Alabama Senate 30: Clyde Chambliss (Unopposed) ALABAMA COURT SYSTEM Supreme Court Chief Justice: Tom Parker AL Supreme Court Place 1: Sarah Stewart AL Court of Civil Appeals Place 1: Michelle Thomason, Pat Thetford Circuit Court 19 Judge: Bill Lewis (Unopposed) PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION Public Service Commission Place 1: Jeremy Oden, Jim Bonner Public Service Commission Place 2: Chip Beeker, Robin Litaker LOCAL AND CIRCUIT RACES: Elmore County Sheriff: Bill Franklin (Unopposed) Probate Judge (Elmore): Vicki Bonner-Ward, John Thornton Elmore County Commission Dist 4: Bart Mercer (Unopposed) Coroner (Elmore): Brad Linville, Jody Jeffcoat Circuit Clerk (Elmore): Michael Dozier, Angie Cruise-Gardner FEDERAL RACE U.S. Congress Dist 2: Rich Hobson, Bobby Bright, Barry Moore A flier for the event may be viewed here: River region candidate fair.
Pat Thetford announces candidacy for Alabama Court of Civil Appeals
Former Jefferson County Circuit Judge Peyton C. “Pat” Thetford on Wednesday announced his candidacy for the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals. Thetford, a Republican, has qualified for the Place 1 seat currently held by Judge Craig Pittman, who has announced he will not seek re-election. A native of Montgomery, Ala., Thetford first began practicing civil litigation in Mobile, Ala, with the firm of Crosby Saad and Beebe. He has spent the past 27 years in the greater Birmingham area, and is working currently with Wade S. Anderson and Associates, serving as staff counsel for State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company. Thetford has tried and won more jury trials for Wade S. Anderson and Associates than any other lawyer in the firm’s history, having handled over a thousand cases and having tried over 80 civil jury trials. In 2015, the non-partisan Jefferson County Judicial Commission selected Thetford as a top-three candidate for Jefferson County Circuit Judge of the Civil Division — which presides over lawsuits filed in the Birmingham division of the Jefferson County court circuit. He was later selected and appointed to the position by former Gov. Robert Bentley. ”I believe that my background of having over 27 years of experience as a civil lawyer and Civil Circuit Judge makes me uniquely qualified to serve as an Appellate Judge on the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals,” Thetford said announcing his candidacy. “If elected, I will bring vast experience and conservative values to the court. I will work hard to administer justice fairly and equitably, but always grounded in the rule of law.” Judge Thetford attended the University of Alabama, earning a Bachelor’s degree in Commerce and Business Administration, and later graduated with a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Thetford earned his law degree in 1988 at the Cumberland School of Law at Samford University. He is married to Mary Frances Thetford and is a proud father of two sons. They are members of Canterbury United Methodist Church in Mountain Brook, Ala. Alabama Tax Tribunal Judge Christy Edwards is also running as a Republican for the seat. As is Baldwin County District Judge Michelle Thomason, who was endorsed by retiring Judge Pittman in September. The Republican Primary will be held June 5, 2018.
