The role of “side judge”– the Assistant Judge– in Vermont is sometimes viewed as a quaint holdover from the days when the administration of justice was greener than the wood the courthouses were built with.
However, the Assistant Judges do more than listen to cases and add an occasional sprinkling of common sense. They set and oversee the county budget, seeing that what our towns and villages do for themselves— maintenance, repair and law and order— is done for the rest of the county.
In Windsor County, Assistant Judge Michael Ricci in his first term has been a prime force in bringing the mechanics of budgeting up to date, linking traditional practices to the efficiency of the computer age. He is supported by his fellow incumbent Assistant Judge Ellen Terie who will be retiring at the end of this term.
Alison Johannensen can be counted on to apply the skills she has honed in decades of paralegal work to sustain and build upon Michael Ricci’s work for improved oversight of Windsor County’s legal and public infrastructure.
Neither of the Assistant Judges with whom candidate David Singer previously worked—Jack Anderson and William Boardman— nor the other past or present Assistant Judges who have dealt with him, have expressed support for him. They have all expressed strong public support for both Ricci and Johannensen.
Chuck Gregory
Springfield, VT
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