David John Mulvihill: In his own words

David John Mulvihill is a candidate for the countywide Thomas vacancy.

The most important qualities of a judge are impartiality and independent judgment. These qualities are among my strongest qualifications for Judge of the Circuit Court. As an outsider to Cook County politics, my candidacy is based on an interest in public service, and not on political connections and contributions from special interests. I believe judicial candidates should be prohibited from accepting contributions from lawyers, law firms and business associates that may potentially affect their impartiality. Sadly, these contributions have become a staple of Cook County judicial races, and are subject to little if any bar association or media scrutiny. My campaign has declined to accept contributions from these sources, and I challenge all judicial candidates running in this election to do the same. We also need to reform our ballot access process in Cook County. Under our current system, onerous and hyper-technical petition challenges are used as a political tool to drive out qualified independent candidates. Cook County voters deserve better.

My professional background is unique for a judicial candidate. I currently serve as Assistant General Counsel with a major national banking association. My practice has included extensive litigation and litigation management experience, including courtroom experience defending select consumer and commercial cases. I have had the privilege of working with many top law firms throughout the city on complex litigation matters. I do not believe the judiciary should be the exclusive province of the trial bar. Attorneys from the business sector can be equally, if not more qualified to run civil courtrooms. I believe my experience in the business sector coupled with my litigation experience has adequately prepared me for service on the bench.

If you agree that Cook County needs campaign finance and ballot access reform in judicial races, I respectfully ask for your vote on February 5th. For more detailed information on my candidacy, please visit my web site at www.mulvihillforjudge.com. Vote #105.