He once called 88 times in a two-hour period. He repeatedly drove past her house in his black BMW. He sent rambling emails and countless text messages.After years of uncontested judicial elections, Allen County voters will have a choice in November.
Allen Superior Judge Kenneth R. Scheibenberger faces a challenge from Wendy Davis, a part-time deputy prosecutor, and Lewis Griffin, a part-time public defender.
The two announced their candidacies Monday afternoon, in vastly different news conferences conducted minutes apart.
Davis, a partner at the law firm of Beckman Lawson, declared her intentions in a speech in front of dozens of noisy supporters in the rotunda of the Allen County Courthouse.
“I think you all know I care about Allen County,” she said. “That’s why I’m here today.”
Griffin, by contrast, stood flanked by a couple of his campaign committee members outside the City-County Building and offered a few words of comment.
“I am committed to serving this county,” Griffin said, “to help it continue on its path of good life for all its people.”
Scheibenberger, a criminal division judge, along with the other Superior Court Judges Nancy Boyer, David Avery and Charles Pratt, is up for re-election this year.
In a written statement Monday, Scheibenberger said he looks forward to discussing the ideas raised by his opponents, as well as their ideas for improving the criminal justice system.
A former assistant district attorney in Texas, Davis said she wants to be back in public service full time.
“I think it’s an exciting time, to let Allen County choose the best candidate,” she said of the three-way race.
Pratt, Avery and Boyer are all unopposed thus far in their campaigns.
