Republican Mary Wertz and Democrat Kristopher Kritzer will face off in November to be the next judge of Brown Circuit Court.
After serving more than two decades, Judge Judith Stewart will step down from the bench at the end of 2018.
Kritzer won the Democrat nomination over Greg Bowes by 203 votes. Vote totals were 638 for Kritzer and 435 for Bowes.
“I am incredibly excited. I am really, really happy and very excited to have the opportunity to move forward in this process and hopefully will be able to do a lot of good work for this community after the general election,” Kritzer said.
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]Wertz won the Republican nomination over Brown County deputy prosecutor Tracey Yeager Stogsdill and public defender Jacob Moore. Vote totals were 1,103 for Wertz, 885 for Stogsdill and 365 for Moore.
Wertz has been a trial attorney for 27 years. She was chief deputy prosecutor in Brown County for 16 years under former prosecutor Jim Oliver. She is currently the deputy prosecutor in Bartholomew County.
“I am very happy, very pleased with the support of my family and my friends. My husband and I and our group worked very hard,” Wertz said.
She and husband Scott knocked on more than 1,250 Republicans’ doors, she said.
“We did it the old-fashioned way and it was very satisfying,” she said. “It was wonderful to meet the voters in Brown County. I look forward to doing this again in November.”
Kritzer worked as the deputy prosecutor in Hendricks County before moving back home to Brown County and running for judge. He is also trained as a domestic mediator and a guardian ad litem.
Bowes worked as a lawyer for 32 years, many of them in the Indianapolis area. He recently moved his practice to Nashville.
“Kris is a great candidate. He’s a smart guy. I believe his heart is in the right place,” Bowes said. “He’s going to be thinking about fairness, justice and integrity. I wish him all the best and I think he’ll be great for Brown County.”
Prosecutor Ted Adams does not have an opponent for the general election yet. Bowes said running for prosecutor as a Democrat is not on his radar at the moment, but people have suggested it to him. “It’s certainly something to think about,” he said.
“I really enjoyed getting to know the people in Brown County. They’ve been so friendly, open and welcoming. It’s just been a real fun time to be part of this process,” Bowes said.
Yeager thanked her family and friends for helping her with her campaign and working the polls.
In her role as Brown County deputy prosecutor, she focuses on child support cases. Prior to that, she worked in private practice for more than 25 years.
Moore, the longest-serving public defender in Brown County, came in third place for the Republican nomination for judge.
“It’s disappointing, of course, but the people have spoken and you have to respect that,” he said.
Kritzer said he’ll soon start preparing for general election campaigning. But first, he said he’s going to take a breather.
“I love the canvassing, because I get to hear peoples’ stories. I get to hear the concerns they have for the community and the county. I get to hear about their history in the county whether they are newcomers or old families. I love being able to go and see all the different, beautiful parts of the county.”
In the meantime, he said he’ll continue to attend Brown County Drug Free Coalition meetings and speak with people in the legal field about bringing a drug court to Brown County and potentially a Jail Chemical Addiction Program. “I love Brown County so much, and the idea that I have the opportunity to do great work for it in the way it gave to me really just fills my heart with joy,” he said.
“I think the ideas that I have, the problem-solving approach that I have been touting for months on months now, will really do a lot of good for Brown County and a way to make sure justice is served every day.”
Wertz wanted to thank all of the voters for their support; however, she too looks forward to a moment without campaigning.
“I am going to rest. I’ve never run a campaign before, so I’ll have to figure out what the next step is,” she said.
“It was work — every night after work, every weekend we spent hours traveling the back roads of the county, roads I never even knew existed,” she said.
Meeting people has been the best part about running for judge, she said.
“I had so many wonderful people invite me into their homes and have wonderful conversations about their concerns and about what they were looking for in a judge. I answered their questions and I listened. It was a gratifying experience,” she said.
“It would have been satisfying even without the win, just having experienced it, and the support I had of my friends and my family meant the world to me.”
[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”How You Voted” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
Brown Circuit Court judge
Republican
Jacob Moore 365
Tracey Yeager Stogsdill 885
Mary Wertz 1,103
Democrat
Greg Bowes 435
Kristopher Kritzer 638
