One candidate withdraws, but five remain in Fayette circuit judge race

Five people, including a district judge and a former circuit judge, have filed to run for Fayette circuit judge in the May primary.

A sixth person, Lexington trial lawyer Michael T. Davis, filed but he said Tuesday that he intends to drop out of the race later this week.

“I’ll be withdrawing in deference to some of my colleagues,” Davis said. “I still have the desire and passion to be a judge, but I don’t think this particular race is my time yet.”

That leaves District Judge Julie Muth Goodman, former Circuit Judge John E. Reynolds, and lawyers Todd S. Page, Steven Stadler and Thomas “Tommy” Todd in the running for the seat previously occupied by Pamela Goodwine.

Goodwine’s Division 4 seat opened up when she was elected in November to the Kentucky Court of Appeals. Retired Circuit Judge Thomas Clark has been filling in since Goodwine left.

The May 21 primary will winnow the field to two candidates for the November general election.

It’s likely that Republican Gov. Matt Bevin will appoint someone to the judge’s seat before the May primary. The judicial nominating commission announced Monday that it is accepting the names of qualified candidates on or before Feb. 11. Anyone interested in being considered for the vacancy must return a completed questionnaire to the commission on or before Feb. 25.

Meanwhile, here’s a brief introduction to the candidates who have filed for the primary:

Fayette District Judge Julie Muth Goodman, 64, was appointed to the bench in August 2008, and then won an election the following November. She ran unopposed in the 2010 and 2014 elections for district judge.

Goodman is a former assistant commonwealth’s attorney and a former prosecutor in the state attorney general’s office. She practiced 28 years in private law and is a former general counsel for the U.S. Equestrian Federation.

“I think the district court bench is a phenomenal place to learn how to be a judge, to learn all aspects of the court system,” Goodman said. “And I think it’s time for the next generation to learn how to do that. It’s extremely important that you have someone on the bench who’s tried cases in circuit court. It’s hard to make the decisions you have to make if you haven’t been a trial lawyer.”

Todd S. Page, 53, an attorney with the Stoll Keenon Ogden law firm, was among the three names put forth by the judicial nominating commission when Judge James Ishmael Jr. retired in 2017, but he was not selected by the governor.

“I’ve done nothing but civil litigation in the circuit courts since I started practicing law in 1990,” Page said. “I have lived in Fayette County for 53 years, so I’m in a good position to understand what their needs are.”

John E. Reynolds, 49, was a Fayette circuit judge in Division 3 for most of last year. After Judge Ishmael retired, Reynolds was appointed to the bench by Gov. Matt Bevin. Reynolds ran for election, but he was defeated in November by Lucy VanMeter.

“The day after the election, several retired judges and current judges came to me and said, ‘John, you really should go for this. You’ve done a good job,’” Reynolds said.

Of the five candidates, Reynolds is the only one who has been a circuit judge.

In addition, “I think my name recognition is very high and I think I know how to run a campaign. “I think I’ll be a very strong candidate.”

Steven Stadler, 42, became an assistant Fayette County attorney in the child support enforcement division in November 2009. He moved to general prosecution in August 2010.

From 2014 to 2016, in addition to his duties with the county attorney’s office, he was a special assistant in the U.S. attorney’s office in Lexington. There he tried federal cases related to firearms and drugs.

Running for circuit judge “is just a continuation of who I am and my career of serving the citizens of Fayette County. This has been something I’ve been interested in for a long time,” Stadler said. “For me, this is the next step in my service to Fayette County.”

Thomas “Tommy” Todd, 58, is a lawyer with the Kinkead & Stilz firm in Lexington. His father, James M. Todd, was an attorney and was Lexington’s vice mayor from 1978 to 1982 when Jim Amato was mayor.

“There’s a thread of public service that has gone though my family for years, and I’ve gotten to the point in my career where I want to do something for Lexington,” Todd said. “I’ve spent the vast majority of my career in circuit court. And it would be a great way to give back to Lexington and the legal community.”

The winner of the November election will serve the remainder of Goodwine’s unexpired term until 2022 when an election will be held for a full eight-year term.

Circuit court judges are paid $127,733 a year. They handle felonies, capital offenses, civil matters involving more than $5,000 and contested probate cases.

This story was originally published January 29, 2019 at 2:23 PM.