Candidate Puts Own Money Into Campaign
BY BUDDY NEVINS
My father always told me: If you don’t believe in yourself, who will?
Mindy Solomon didn’t know my father, but she obviously had someone who gave her the same advice.
Mindy Solomon (Picture: Jaablog:Jaablaw.com)
Solomon kicked $25,000 of her own money into her race for county judge in mid-July. This is according to the latest campaign financial reports for the third quarter being released this week.
Solomon’s campaign now has about $36,000 in the bank after expenses. So her $25,000 made a big difference.
Her opponent Roshawn Banks for Group 5 in county court had $240 after the third quarter.
Solomon is one of Public Defender Howard Finkelstedin’s chief assistants. She has decades of experience.
But in a vigorous campaign, Solomon’s history with the PD office could work against her.
Many voters don’t like that the PD’s office uses tax money to free people. Most presume the PD’s clients are guilty the minutes they are arrested.
It would be easy to run a campaign against any defense attorney. All it takes is an independent committee (Independent, yeah. Wink wink nod nod.) and some mug shots of their past clients to use in advertising.
Not really brain surgery. I’ve seen it done and I’ve seen it work.
So any defense attorney starts in a race for judge with a potential handicap. With that in mind, it’s no surprise that Solomon decided to puff up her campaign account now.
October 8th, 2009 at 5:53 am
No worries for Mindy abput this kind of campaigning. Other defense lawyers who are judges or want to run well…..
October 8th, 2009 at 6:48 am
Mindy is a bright, energetic, intellectually honest, compassionate and respectful person. She believes in fair play and I am certain that she will “call ’em as she sees ’em”. Good for her for investing in herself and us.
October 8th, 2009 at 8:08 am
buddy get real,, while she is indeed a nice person,, an experienced trial lawyer she is not. how many cases has she tried to verdict as a pd in her near 20 years, 2 or 3. a few more as a prosecutor. mindy has never been known as either a workaholic or a trial lawyer, but, she has the demeanor to be a fine judge.
FROM BUDDY: As a supervisor, she helps schedule attorneys and plan trials. She discusses strategy and involved in the back office work it takes to prepare the PDs Office for trials.
That said, I agree with your point. The term “trial experience” indicates she was arguing the case, so I changed it to just “experience” at your suggestion.
October 8th, 2009 at 9:13 am
Mindy has tried numerous cases in her career, from misdemeanors to murders. She’s worked both sides of the isle on criminal matters, and done it with dignity and respect for the process.
She also has lengthy experience as an educator, teaching trial advocacy at Nova law school for over a decade as well as training hundreds upon hundreds of lawyers who have gone through both the SAO and PD’s office.
I don’t believe there is anyone running now who has her experience or judicial temperament.
As as County Judge, you need to be able to deal not just with lawyers, but the members of the public who, for many, have had no experience in the judicial system.
She is definitely the right person for this job.
Best of luck to Mindy in her campaign.
October 8th, 2009 at 12:22 pm
Why do you print crap from the self-proclaimed “Prince of Darkness” a/k/a A-Turd?
The readers at JAAB and Bob Norman know his style of BS all too well…..
Don’t know why he’d stick his nose in this race given that everyone knows what he did to Col. Rynerson, Ed Salantrie, and Heidi Berkowitz last year.
Tell A-hearn that we don’t need his kind mucking up another race, and we won’t let him do it again this year.
Keep walking around Wilton Manors at night wearing all black bigboy, we all know what you are up to.
October 8th, 2009 at 4:47 pm
Mindy Solomon tried many, many cases earning her position as a homicide proseutor, the most coveted position in the State Attorney’s Office. I tried several murder cases against her and found her to be fully prepared and extrremely competent. It was her abilities as both a skilled attorney and a people person that induced the Public Defender to hire her away from the State Attorney’s Office. She will be an asset to the Broward County bench.
October 9th, 2009 at 5:56 am
Looks like the folks at Jaab got bored talking about me on their blog and brought it over here.
That post reminds me of a line a wise local political consultant once said “if I did all the things I was accused of I would have no time to do anything else”.
Great profile on Mindy, she will make a great judge.