By Lynn Binnie
Whitewater Banner volunteer staff
whitewaterbanner@gmail.com
The Whitewater Common Council, in a special meeting on May 1, interviewed three candidates for an interim appointment as Municipal Judge: Art Coleman, Jonathan McDonell, and John William Nelson. Council members did not discuss their views regarding the interviews other than to express appreciation for the three candidates stepping forward. Nelson was chosen on a 4-3 vote, with Brienne Brown, Greg Marjkrzak, Brian Schanen, and Orin Smith voting in favor.
State statutes stipulate very minimal required qualifications for a municipal judge; of particular note, a judge need not be an attorney. According to the Wisconsin Court System website, approximately 50% of the over 200 municipal judges are attorneys. The judge must live in the municipality where they serve. Two of the applicants for the position, McDonell and Nelson, are attorneys. McDonell currently serves as city attorney as well as the city’s prosecutor in the municipal court. It was mentioned that if McDonell was appointed as judge the city would have to seek a different attorney for his current roles. Coleman, who has twice been an unsuccessful candidate on the ballot for municipal judge, retired last year from state service as a probation/parole agent, and indicated that in that role he had frequent appearances in courts. Nelson described himself as a trial attorney who most recently had resided in Georgia. He indicated that he felt that his relatively recent move to Whitewater would be a plus, as he would be less likely to be acquainted with individuals who might appear in court or their family members.
The appointment of an interim municipal judge was necessitated by the resignation, effective June 1, of Patrick Taylor, who will be moving to California to join his spouse, who is now employed there. Taylor is serving his second term as judge, with a term that expires in May 2027. The selection of a new judge was particularly expedited in order to facilitate a decision in time for the new judge to attend the Wisconsin Court System’s annual Municipal Judge Orientation Seminar, which Nelson told The Whitewater Banner he does plan to attend. Taylor, in addressing the Council, complimented them on their prompt appointment of the judge, and also passed on recommendations to the candidates on what he considered to be important philosophies and practices of running an effective court.
A special election to elect a judge to fulfill the remainder of Taylor’s term will be held as part of the presidential election in November. Both McDonell and Nelson expressed an intention to run in that election; Coleman indicated that he was undecided due to the possibility of having other employment by that time.
