In Judge Race, Dusek and Goodwin Discuss Finances and Experience

This week, Attorney Carmen Dusek contrasted herself to opponent Brad Goodwin over Goodwin’s donors who are local attorneys, declaring that she made a conscientious decision to not accept political campaign donations from her colleagues.

Dusek’s comments came at the opening of the candidate forum organized by the Texas Business Women of San Angelo held Monday night at Zentner’s Daughter Steakhouse, 1901 Knickerbocker Rd.

“What sets me apart in this race is that I believe very strongly in the integrity of our justice system,” Dusek said. “For that reason, I have voluntarily chosen to not accept contributions from any attorney who appears in our courts. Why do I do that? It’s an expensive proposition when I decline thousands of dollars of attorney contributions. It’s because I want everyone who sets foot in our courthouse to know that justice is equal and unbiased.”

Goodwin, however, didn’t address the contrast in campaign finance in his remarks immediately following. After the forum was over, Goodwin was asked about Dusek’s volley towards him. He first questioned if it was an attack. Goodwin then responded by saying the attorneys donating to his campaign know him best, and respect his abilities because they’ve worked with him up close, and the donations are a sign of their trust in his ability to be the 391^st Judge.

[[{"fid":"18528","view_mode":"preview","type":"media","attributes":{"height":"674","width":"1200","class":"media-element file-preview imgbody"}}]]Above: Attorney Brad Goodwin who is running for 391st District Judge presents at the Texas Business Women of San Angelo on Feb. 15. (LIVE! Photo/Joe Hyde)

Would those donors get preferential treatment from a Judge Goodwin?

“Absolutely not,” he said.

Dusek’s determination not to accept campaign dollars from lawyers is a long-held position, since the beginning of her campaign. It is one of the reasons Goodwin was out-fundraising Dusek leading up to early voting 2-to-1.

According to his campaign finance reports, Goodwin’s take from just attorneys exceeds Dusek’s cash on hand as of the last campaign finance report on Jan. 21.

Goodwin’s presentation at the forum Monday hammered his experience as a seasoned prosecutor.

“I have over 23 years experience doing exactly what this court does on a daily basis,” Goodwin said. He noted that the court hears both criminal and civil cases.

Being tough on crime was his theme, though.

Goodwin stressed his experience prosecuting criminals. “I was a prosecutor in El Paso. And I prosecuted murderers, drug dealers, drive-by shooters, child molesters. I’ve handled over 1,000 criminal cases,” he said. “It is that experience that makes me uniquely qualified to be the next judge of your 391^st District Court.”

Retiring 391^st District Judge Tom Gossett volunteered to handle all juvenile cases of the four district courts by a gentlemen’s agreement of the four district judges in this county, not by prescribed law or procedure. Goodwin said he would be a good fit to continue that tradition, too, because of his experience as a juvenile prosecutor in Lubbock County.

Goodwin concluded by noting that he was endorsed by the San Angelo Police Officers’ Political Action Committee (SAPAC).

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Above: Goodwin and Dusek present together at the Young Professionals of San Angelo on Feb. 18, 2016. (LIVE! Photo/Joe Hyde)

Dusek, however, paints a broader picture of the responsibilities of the court. The 391^st isn’t a solely a criminal court she maintains. Instead all state district courts in Tom Green County are general jurisdiction courts. As such, the 391^st, and the other district courts here handle “lawsuits, divorces, child custody, juvenile cases, child protective services cases, land disputes, and felony criminal cases,” Dusek’s website informs.

Dusek’s campaign shows a graphic of the distribution of the types of cases heard at the 391^st District Court on her website to emphasize her point that the daily duties of Tom Green County Court are more than crime cases.

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Above: Distribution of court cases of the 391st District Court as presented by Carmen Dusek.

Dusek closed her presentation by asking three questions:

"Who do you want to make the child custody decisions?

"Who do you want to be presiding when you’ve been sued in a lawsuit?

"Who do you trust to protect children and their families in our community?"

Later, Dusek, who has 20 years experience as a trial attorney, clarified her campaign’s approach.

“It is the district attorney, not the judge who works directly with law enforcement to prosecute criminal offenses. It is the judge’s job to make the process is fair, that the law is applied, and to ensure that no errors occur that may result in a reversal of any criminal case on appeal,” she said.

Dusek added, “This is a race for district judge, not a race for DA. When selecting a judge, the most important criteria are recent courtroom experience, the ability to insure that the laws are applied equally and fairly to all parties. And to treat all parties with dignity and respect.” 

For readers to decide, here is a chart of Tom Green County district court trials, hearings, or call conferences each opponent has participated since Jan. 1, 2011. (Source: Tom Green County District Court online).

According to a survey of readers of San Angelo LIVE!, Goodwin enjoys a comfortable 9-point lead. Dusek’s opportunity, it seems, is with the large swath of undecided voters.

The Google survey was conducted of readers of the San Angelo LIVE! website selected at random who indicated they were voting in the Mar. 1 Republican Primary election. The survey was presented 42,985 times and 2,072 visitors started the survey since Feb. 14 until today.

Of the 2,072 who answered the qualifying question—“Will you vote in the Republican primary on Mar. 1?”—724 completed the question asking for preference of 391^st District Judge.  Goodwin commands a 23.3 percent to 14.1 percent lead over Dusek. Google sets the margin of error at or less than 3.5 points.

The winner so far, however, is the number of undecided voters, at 62.6 percent.

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