Editor:

District Attorney Mike Bloom is the clear choice for Oneida County Circuit Court Judge. He is smart, hardworking, and unflappable.

As a former circuit court judge, I am aware that 60 percent or more of the job is handling criminal, traffic, juvenile delinquency and child protection cases. Only a handful of attorneys in the area have Mike Bloom’s experience with these types of cases.

The job of a circuit court judge is not easy. A judge must be able to marshal all the resources available, and apply them with judgment and common sense, whether this means a referral to social services, utilizing the resources of probation and parole, or placing someone in the county jail, or even prison. Of course, it helps to have worked with all these agencies and to know the people serving in them. Mike Bloom has that knowledge. His recent endorsement by the Oneida County Deputy Sheriff’s Association speaks for itself.

Mike Bloom is a public servant in the best sense of the word. He knows what it means to deal with people at difficult times in their lives because that is what he has done. That is the career path he has chosen. He knows how to treat people from different walks of life with dignity and respect.

In addition to his extensive legal experience, he is community-minded. He has lived in Oneida County for two decades, and he and his wife, Beth, have chosen to raise their family here. He has unselfishly given his time to a number of community activities, including the YMCA of the Northwoods and the Rhinelander High School Mock Trial team.

If we were to design an ideal judge, it is hard to imagine how we could do better than Mike Bloom in terms of intelligence, experience, temperament and energy. He gets my vote, and I hope he gets yours, too.

Hon. Robert E. Kinney, Rhinelander