The Travis County website states that Criminal District Courts "preside over felony cases and all misdemeanors involving official misconduct. Once a felony case is indicted by a grand jury, the case is assigned to one of the seven District Courts." The 299th Criminal District Court is one of these seven courts. The current judge of the 299th, the Honorable Charlie Baird, will not seek re-election at the end of his current term. Hours after this was announced, Assistant District Attorney Karen Sage decided to make it public that she wanted to be his successor. The following day Mindy Montford tentatively announced her candidacy.
Today, April 13, 2010, the polls close for the run-off election between Democratic candidates Karen Sage and Mindy Montford. Looking more closely into these candidates, both are experienced inside and outside of the courtroom. Graduating from the University of Minnesota in 1988 and the University of Minnesota Law School in 1991, Karen Sage is currently an Assistant District Attorney for Travis County. According to her website, Sage has "prosecuted hundreds of important and high-profile felony cases, with crimes ranging form sexual assault to manslaughter...murder cases...narcotics, human trafficking, insurance fraud, and securities fraud." She has also served as Counsel to the Mayor of Los Angeles, and, worked as a prosecutor in the United States Attorney's Office in New York before coming to Austin in the District Attorney's office in 2006. On the other side of the ballot, Mindy Montford graduated from the University of Texas where she interned for Governor Ann Richards and attended the University of Texas for law school. According to her website, Montford "has handled thousands of cases including robbery, burglary, aggravated assault, sexual assault, child abuse, family violence and murder" and "has tried over 100 jury trials." Montford started as a misdemeanor prosecutor in Harris County, worked as the General Counsel to a Democratic Sate Senator and then returned to prosecution as a Travis County Assistant District Attorney.
In my opinion, both candidates are extremely qualified and we would benefit from either holding the seat. It is difficult to pick one because one accomplishment does not outshine another. Both have achieved great things for the legal system and the State of Texas. Sage has been appointed to the Mental Health Court Docket and is the sole prosecutor handling those cases and is committed to decriminalizing mental illness. Montford also can be applauded for her work on the Travis County Child Protection Team where she has no doubt been exposed to some horrific things.
The Burnt Orange Report actually helps make my point about both candidates. They issued a dual-endorsement of both Karen Sage and Mindy Montford during the March primary. On April 5, 2010 Phillip Martin wrote an article entitled "Why I Support Karen Sage for the 299th District Court." I should mention that it had a disclaimer stating that this article was not an endorsement from the Burnt Orange Report. It was a very positive and flattering article about Karen Sage and her commitment to a life of public service. Then, on April 8, 2010, the Burnt Orange Report officially picked a side endorsing Mindy Montford as the best candidate to serve Travis County. In the end, even though I love the experience in various counties across the country, I must agree and place my vote with Mindy Montford.
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