by Joe Wilhelm Jr.
Staff Writer
Political consultants were hired and fundraisers were held, but the judicial campaign trail was short for Jim Daniel and Jeff Morrow.
Both attorneys won unopposed races for judge in the Fourth Judicial Circuit. Daniel won the Group 4 seat while Morrow won Group 19.
“I guess it’s better to be lucky than good sometimes,” said Morrow. “I feel lucky it happened that way.”
Both prepared for a race, but now they are glad to have the opportunity to return the money their supporters donated.
“One of the reasons you become unopposed is people realize you are ready to go,” said Daniel. “Now I look forward to writing some checks out to the people who believed in my campaign.”
One of the more creative campaign advertising ideas Daniel deployed was printing T-shirts for friends to wear during the Gate River Run in March.
“Now they are collectors’ items,” said Daniel.
Unopposed races aren’t the only similarity between the two future judges. They both have to relinquish their roles as private attorneys, close out pending cases and say goodbye to the friends they have made at their current offices.
“I’m so busy right now I can’t even pay attention,” said Morrow.
He runs his own practice and among his caseload are two pending cases before the Florida Supreme Court. Morrow is also aware that the lawyers he will be facing will know he is running out of time and they might try to take advantage of that.
“Sure, some will try to get extra time and try to stretch things out,” he said. “I just have to have someone else prepared to handle the case.”
It is also going to be difficult for Morrow to close the door on his practice and release his staff of five people. Over the years, he said, they have become much more than just employees.
“It’s going to be a strange feeling when I have to close the office,” said Morrow. “I’ve got a family here, in a sense. I will miss all of those people.”
While Daniel may work at a bigger firm, his feelings are similar to Morrow’s. Daniel became a partner with Coker Schickel, Sorenson and Daniel in 2000 and saw his named attached to the firm in 2006.
“It’s a bittersweet feeling, this is my family,” said Daniel. “I love everyone here. It makes me a little sad that I won’t be able to come and see these people everyday.”
While nothing has been finalized, Daniel has set a rough timeline to have his cases either finished or transferred to other attorneys by November. Daniel knows he will miss being an attorney, but it is worth it to fulfill his dreams.
“It’s a job I always wanted to do,” he said. “I feel like this is the right path for me and I’m extremely excited about it.”
There are two contested judicial races in the Fourth Judicial Circuit. Mark Hulsey and Adrian Soud are running for the Group 11 seat while Rick Buttner and Virginia Norton are running for the Group 28 seat. These races will be decided in November.