Article by:
Kevin Speed, Esq.
Very few of us have ever experienced anything like the times that we are living through right now. On the nightly news, the closest comparisons from our recent memories are to the cataclysmic damage wrought by Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans and the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, in New York, Washington D.C. and Pennsylvania. Against all odds and even though our country mourned the loss of thousands of our friends and loved ones in the aftermath of those tragedies, Americans – from New England to Newport Beach and everywhere in between – made it through! The coronavirus pandemic of 2020 is proof, once again, that when everyday Americans face difficult days and seemingly insurmountable odds against them, they exhibit the courage, faithfulness and tenacity to see one another through like family.
The pandemic has caused us to alter every facet of our daily lives, yet we still have a very important day of decision coming up in just a few short weeks. Governor Sisolak did the right thing and ordered all non-essential businesses closed, but our government must continue to run so that citizens’ everyday needs are met. Our elections must go on so that when the next disaster strikes our homes and our families, the family court will have the right person on the job who will not be afraid to make the tough decisions, who has the experience working in the courthouse to know how to make the judicial system work for us and who will be able to point to his career-long record of service to the community both before and during these most frightening times. My friends, I am still campaigning to be your pick for Family Court Judge – Department Z and I am the best qualified candidate for the job that will need to be done once the dark days of the coronavirus pandemic are behind us.
First, the most important thing that I need my supporters to know is that this election will be unlike any other in the history of our state. Because of COVID-19 and social distancing concerns, the Nevada Secretary of State and the county Elections Division have ordered that balloting take place almost entirely by mail. That means registered voters will have their ballots mailed to them and it will be up to each one of you to make sure that you make your selections then mail your ballots in so that they will be counted by 9 June.
Ballots will begin arriving in the first week of May, 30 days before Election Day. Please utilize this month to make sure that you are registered to vote and follow-up at RegisterToVoteNV.gov to ensure that your ballot comes to your address in time to have your selection count!
Next, my race for Family Court Judge – Department Z will be a four-person contest in June. That means that the top two vote-getters will face off in the General Election in November. In order for me to continue in the race, I have to be one of the top two finishers.
The other candidates are two private practitioners and one government service attorney. I expect that over the next few weeks the two private practitioners will do a lot of talking about their “…experience” in family court; however, in their two careers combined neither can say that they have appeared in as many courtrooms or tried as many top level, life-altering court cases as I have in my 19 years of experience as a trial litigator and appellate attorney here in Nevada.
You better believe that experience matters! It will matter more in the coming months and years than it ever has for thousands of families in Southern Nevada. After we make it through this trying time, putting our normal way of life back on track will require a family court judge with a real litigator’s courtroom experience. One who knows how to manage a courtroom with an unimaginably heavy caseload, and work with all types of people, of all races and economic backgrounds who appear at the courthouse seeking justice . . . one whose chief concern for the past seventeen years has been protecting the Constitutional rights of all Nevadans, including the poor and disadvantaged, and not just making partner in their law firms. The other government attorney has only been practicing for the minimum ten years required to qualify as a district court candidate and he has not been a litigator.
Finally, my friends, when the time comes to make your decision about whom you want to serve you as your Family Court Judge in Department Z, ask yourself, “…where were the other candidates during the coronavirus pandemic?” The answer for Kevin Speed: He has been at the Regional Justice Center, still showing up every day to take care of the business that needs to be handled for the citizens of Clark County. Still coming to work for the people of Nevada, as early as 6:30 AM some days, as an ESSENTIAL public servant. And still putting the duties and responsibilities appurtenant to his sworn oath as a government officer ahead of himself.
That’s commitment to public service. That’s courage in the face of disaster. Those are the qualities that Nevadans will need in their next family court judge.
The only real choice is Kevin Speed for Family Court Judge – Department Z.
Please visit my website at http://kevinspeed4judge.com and thank you for your continuing support.