Candidate Q&As: Municipal judge

Vicki Kelley has spent the last year as municipal judge, appointed to fill the void left by the retirement of Judge Jan Garrett. Now she wants to be elected to the position.

Kelley isn’t alone in the running however, with Paul Nelson also throwing his hat in the ring for the position.

The News sat down with both candidates to ask them a few questions before early voting starts on Tuesday and Election Day comes around on March 3.

Vicki Kelley

Why did you decide to run?

I’m running because I’m really fortunate to have come across a career choice early in my life that I really love and am excited by.

A lot of things have changed over the years, but the most important thing has always been the people who walk through my doors. Everyone wants the same thing and that’s to be treated with compassion, respect and to be heard.

As municipal judge I will continue to give everyone who enters the court the attention and the time that they need.

What experiences and qualifications do you have that prepare you for the term’s remaining two years?

I’ve been with the municipal judge for 38 years. I started out as the court clerk and then moved up to court administrator. I was court administrator for 30 years and then at the 2002 municipal judge election I ran for the position and didn’t get it, Judge Garrett did.

I was still the court administrator and was appointed as the alternate judge. As the alternate judge I served 17 years. In April of 2019 when Garrett retired, I put in and was appointed by the city commission on April 4 of 2019 and have been serving in the position since then.

One of my passions has always been training and education of clerks and judges and I have served in that capacity throughout the years in different areas.

Have you been arrested or charged with any crime beyond traffic violations? If so, what were the circumstances and outcome?

No I have not.

How well do you feel the current court is doing, and is there any way in which you believe the court could improve operations?

At this point I think the court is running really well and I haven’t implemented a whole lot of new ideas yet because I was just appointed and wanted to be elected by the public first.

A couple things we have improved include a software program that notifies defendants if payment is due tomorrow, if they have a hearing the next day or if there’s been a warrant issued for them. We’ve had a ton of success with it; people have told me that they’ve been so glad they got a call. It’s really helped us out.

Another thing I’ve started is for non-English speaking defendants. We didn’t have an interpreter. It’s something that we just started and don’t have to use it very often, but when we have it’s been with a third party and defendants have understood and knew exactly what was going on.

A large portion of the people will never see a courtroom other than yours. How do you ensure they’re treated fairly by the system, whether they agree with your ruling or not?

Sometimes you have people who come in and have never been in court before and are scared or nervous, but I’m going to treat everyone the same way. Whether you’ve been there 20 times or this is your very first time.

One of the things I really like to do is help people navigate the judicial system. Many of our Clovis residents or those in Portales and around the area have problems with their driving records. It’s simply because they don’t know how to navigate the court and find out how to clear their licenses.

I’ve spoken with the chief of police and the city attorney and they have allowed me that when someone is on suspension to look at their driving record and try to get it cleared. For example, we’ll try to get it from a $300 fine and 90 days in jail to a no driver’s licenses and get them a clear record and get them able to drive on the streets again.

That’s probably what I’m mostly proud about in my office. People come in and they’ve been to jail or prison for 25 years and have never had a driver’s license and we can get that for them. We want the people in our community who have completed their sentence to be able to drive again. When that happens we like to celebrate because they’ve finally got a license.

It really helps those people who need a license get back to work and we celebrate that.

When you get repeat offenders in your court, what is the best thing you can do as a judge to help them turn things around?

What I say all the time is that people deserve grace and mercy. I will give you grace and mercy until I can’t give you grace and mercy anymore.

When I say that, I tell people I’ll help them and get their issues taken care of, but I expect you to do the same. If there is a time you don’t do your portion, you’ll have to face the consequences.

It comes back to frequent flyers; we get people who say, “Just fine me. Maybe I can pay it, maybe I can’t,” and we try to work with them to just encourage them to stay on top of it.

If we can just encourage and notify them to come in and work on it, that helps with that and gives them a voice that says “Come in.”

It’s not my intention to show scorn for anybody. If I don’t want to go to jail, I certainly don’t want you to go to jail. People react to that.

When I do have to sentence I have to say “I can’t do anymore,” and they say, “I get it, I understand judge.”

Local judges at various levels have declined to perform any marriages, citing a desire not to perform same-sex marriages. Would you perform marriage ceremonies, and if not do you feel the taxpayer is being fully served by the court?

I do not perform marriages.

Paul Nelson

Why did you decide to run?

I’ve worked for the city of Clovis and the IT department and I think I’m ready for a change and would bring some valuable experience to the job. This is a good time and it felt right for my family and me.

What experiences and qualifications do you have that prepare you for the term’s remaining two years?

I’m very logical and very detail-oriented. I understand a lot and in my career I’ve done lots of work with law enforcement and the District Attorney’s Office, as well as other entities.

I feel like I understand the law and can be very logical to apply the law as it’s intended.

Have you been arrested or charged with any crime beyond traffic violations? If so, what were the circumstances and outcome?

I was. It was in the paper back in 2017. I was arrested in Dallas for possessing a firearm at the airport.

The outcome was that it was dismissed after a grand jury found there was no probable cause a crime was committed.

How well do you feel the current court is doing, and is there any way in which you believe the court could improve operations?

I think operations could always be improved. The current court is running very well, but there’s always that room for improvement.

A large portion of the people will never see a courtroom other than yours. How do you ensure they’re treated fairly by the system, whether they agree with your ruling or not?

I think by taking the time to understand their situation and make a fair ruling. To get on their level and help them understand why you’re doing what you’re doing. Make sure to change things around and not continue a cycle.

When you get repeat offenders in your court, what is the best thing you can do as a judge to help them turn things around?

Figure out what the root cause is. A thing that I’m into is root cause analysis and what I want to do is find the cause of the problem and fix that.

Maybe there will be a service they need that will help them. For example if someone can’t afford insurance we can find a service for that or other parts of their life that will get them some affordability to get what they need.

Local judges at various levels have declined to perform any marriages, citing a desire not to perform same-sex marriages. Would you perform marriage ceremonies, and if not do you feel the taxpayer is being fully served by the court?

I don’t feel the taxpayer is being fully served by the court in that situation and I absolutely would perform marriages.

— Compiled by Staff Writer Mathew Brock