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Judge David Munton addresses rally
Barb York, chair of the Vernon County Republican Party welcomed some 65 people to the home economics building at the Vernon County Fairgrounds for an evening of food and political speeches. Along with the keynote speech by Associate Circuit Judge David Munton, candidate for presiding judge of the 28th Judicial Circuit, five local candidates spoke briefly as did state Rep. Patricia Pike and U.S. Rep. Vicki Hartzler, and surrogates for state Sen. Ed Emery and gubernatorial candidate, Eric Greitens, who had been in Nevada earlier that day.
Current Presiding Circuit Judge James Bickel spoke briefly before introducing Judge Munton.
"Being a circuit judge takes a lot of time and thought," said Bickel. "Most of the time, I referee and rule on various motions. As I thank you for the opportunity to have served you and all those in the circuit, what remains near and dear to me is the adult recovery court."
Bickel said he has heard the criticism about how it was being soft on criminals -- to which he said, "We've been tough on crime but we've not always been smart on crime. Half of all who go to jail and get out are arrested again within three years. But more than 80 percent of drug court graduates remain law abiding taxpayers who become good sons, daughters and parents themselves Isn't that what we really want and need?"
Bickel recalled how, years earlier, he was pestered by Munton to get recovery court established in Dade County.
"And I want to publicly thank him for agreeing to let me continue to supervise adult recovery court in Vernon and Cedar counties after Jan. 1," Bickel said."
Judge Munton began by paying tribute to Bickel, his years of service and efforts to launch and develop adult recovery court for which Bickel's predecessor, Judge Darnold, had laid the groundwork.
The sole candidate for presiding judge in the November election then launched into his speech by reciting first some family history and then the preamble to the U.S. Constitution.
"I am privileged to have had two ancestors who fought in the Revolutionary War, one of whom was Henry Weidner, whose father had come from Germany."
Weidner fought in the battle which Thomas Jefferson would later call 'the turning point of our war for independence', the Battle of King's Mountain, which was fought on the border between North and South Carolina on Oct. 7, 1780.
Said Munton, "It was this battle which rallied southern patriots and in October of the very next year led to the cornering of and surrender of Cornwallis which effectively ended the war."
Munton told of Weidner receiving a land grant in Missouri and bringing his family from North Carolina in 1806.
"When my mother was 80 years old, our family travelled to the battle site and to where Weidner lived in Carolina and Missouri," said Munton. "To see how hard it was just to exist back in those days and then realize they were willing to travel and risk life and limb to secure our freedoms got me to thinking about those freedoms and the rights they secured as stated in the first 10 amendments to the Constitution, which are called the Bill of Rights."
Said Munton, "Listen as I read to you the preamble to the constitution and I hope it strikes you and it does me that it wonderfully summarizes the role of government and the rule of law in our great republic."
The associate circuit judge spoke of the First Amendment's guarantees with respect to free exercise of religion, free speech, press, assembly and to petition government for redress of grievances. He spoke of the second and the right to bear arms and moved on to the fourth's rules against search and seizure, the fifth's protection against self-incrimination and right to due process, the sixth's right to trial by a jury of one's peers, the seventh's right to a jury in a civil case, the eighth's protection against cruel and unusual punishment and establishment of bail, the ninth's reservation of undesignated powers to the people and the tenth's statement on reserved powers.
Said Munton, "I'm glad for the freedoms they fought for and gave to us. May we, in our small way, pay them back for their heroic deeds by using and guarding the freedoms that make America great."
Earlier in the evening, candidates Brent Banes, Cindy Thompson, Everett Wolfe along with Mike Buehler shared their gratitude for the support they have been receiving and reminded the group to not let the negativity at the state and national campaigns stop them from turning out to vote.
Candidate for Southern District Commissioner, Everett Wolfe, had earlier said, "A candidate can have all the supporters you want but if they don't turn out on Election Day, you lose. I tell people someone is going to win whether you vote or not. So why not vote and help determines who wins."
In her remarks, State Rep. Pike said, "It has been an honor to serve you these past two years. You gave me a special gift of having no opponent which means I have been able to focus on serving the needs of people in this district."
Pike spoke of the Show Me Diabetic Forum she had organized and observed earlier that day in Nevada.
"We put together some 20 resource people and I sat to take notes in order to learn for it's my intention to develop legislation around this important issue which affects so many people in this district and their families," said Pike.
"In a time of negative campaigning, I want you to know the people I work with in the capital are great people and they work hard in service of the people of this state," said Pike. "These are very good people who run for the right reasons."
U.S. Rep. Vicki Hartzler said, "This campaign and my time in office are about the defense of our nation, cherishing and protecting our freedoms and upholding heartland values of faith, family and community."
The congresswoman talked about her filing an amicus brief with 108 colleagues in support of a law suit asking the U.S. Supreme Court to quash the Environmental Protection Agency's "Waters of the U.S." rule that she believes could open the door to regulation of almost every body of water in the country, public or private.
Surrogates spoke on behalf of Ed Emery, candidate for state senate and for Eric Greitens, who had spoken earlier that day, in Nevada, to a group of some 75 people.
Absentee voting is already underway and Election Day is Nov, 8.