GREENFIELD — Three residents seeking the Republican nomination for Hancock Circuit Court Judge and three others vying for county clerk addressed voters Wednesday.
They appeared during a Hancock County Young Republicans forum at the Hancock County Courthouse Annex, telling those gathering about their goals if elected.
The candidates for Hancock County Clerk — the keeper and organizer of all court records and judicial dockets who must also oversee local elections — are Greenfield residents Lisa Eberhardt Lofgreen, Mark Lozier and Miriam Rolles.
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Click here to purchase photos from this galleryThe three-way race for circuit court judge pits local attorneys D.J. Davis and Scott Wooldridge against incumbent Scott Sirk, who was appointed by Gov. Eric Holcomb late last year to replace the newly retired Judge Richard Culver, who had been on the bench in Hancock Circuit Court for nearly 30 years.
No Democrats have filed to run in the May 8 primary in either race.
The six candidates were each given five minutes Wednesday to make their pitch to voters about why they’re the best candidate for the job. Here’s a look at what each had to say about their campaigns:
Hancock Circuit Court judge
D.J. Davis
D.J. Davis, a Hancock County native whose law firm is located in downtown Greenfield, hopes to bring a fresh perspective to the local judicial system.
Davis has worked as an attorney locally since 1997, practicing bankruptcy, family and criminal law and representing an array of local municipal and township boards, including the Greenfield City Council. He served on the Greenfield City Council for eight years between 2004 and 2011 and sat on the Greenfield Plan Commission from 2008 to 2011.
He told the crowd he meets with clients every day who battle the addictions and mental health issues that are the root of many issues locally. He hopes to play a role in implementing court-based treatment programs, including a veteran’s court, that will make a difference in the community.
“We have to do something different,” Davis said. “We can’t just keep losing people.”
Scott Sirk
Scott Sirk is the only candidate with previous judicial experience. He was appointed to the bench in circuit court in December 2017 and spent the nearly nine years prior working as the county court commissioner — a position that gave him all the power and duties of a seated judge.
Sirk graduated law school in 1988 and began practicing in Hancock County that same year. He worked as the county’s chief deputy prosecutor from 2003 to 2006.
Sirk told the crowd Wednesday that addressing the county’s drug problem is one of his main concerns.
Since taking over as circuit court judge, Sirk said he’s assumed the responsibility of overseeing the county’s Drug Court — an intense two-year program aimed at rehabilitating those who commit crimes because of addictions — and helped decrease the demand of drugs.
And he’s committed to sending convicted drug dealers to prison, cutting off the supply of drugs locally and helping keep Hancock County families safe, he said.
Scott Wooldridge
Judges have more responsibilities than just hearing and deciding criminal cases; and it’s the family law cases the circuit court judge presides over that truly interest Scott Wooldridge.
He told the crowd Wednesday that he knows a bit about what it’s like to be a kid from a troubled family.
His father was laid off from a high-paying job when the economy took a slight turn in the 1980s, and Wooldridge’s parents sent him to live with his grandparents in Ohio, he said.
“My parents couldn’t afford me anymore,” he told the crowd candidly, adding he believes the experience taught him a lot, even prepared him in a way to make the tough decisions a judge has to make.
“You have to know what it’s like to be that child,” he added.
Of all the candidates, Wooldridge has had the shortest legal career: he’s practiced for eight years, attending law school after a career in business management and public health administration. He currently practices family law in Greenfield, while doing some work as a public defender.
If elected, he promises to listen and be fair, he said.
Hancock County clerk
Lisa Eberhardt Lofgreen
Lisa Eberhardt Lofgreen is a lifelong resident of Greenfield who holds an associate’s degree in business management from Indiana Business College.
She’s worked in Greenfield’s Pritzke & Davis Law Firm for more than 25 years, and there she’s learned the ins and outs of the judicial record-keeping and bookkeeping, she said.
She believes her experiences have given her insight on how to make the clerk’s office run more efficiently. If elected, she plans to review the office’s current filing procedures and improve them, she said.
Mark Lozier
Mark Lozier is not a Hancock County native; but he’s chosen to make the area his home, and he believes that makes him more passionate and energized to serve, he said.
Lozier earned degrees from Indiana University and the University of Notre Dame. His career thus far has been in business and insurance, and he promises to apply his business skills to his work in the clerk’s office, if elected.
Miriam Rolles
If elected clerk, Miriam Rolles is most excited about overseeing the county’s elections.
The election office is an important but often overlooked faction of the county clerk’s duties; but she’s already started to get her feet wet there, she said. Last year, she attended the Indiana Election Division Conference, and she’s been attending the local election board meetings ever since, she told the crowd Wednesday.
Rolles is the owner and operator of The Abstract Shake, which runs title-searching services in more than 23 counties in Indiana, helping Hoosiers find court records easily and efficiently, she said. Her career has given her a working knowledge of legal record-keeping, which includes regularly keeping up on any changes in legislation governing public records.