by Joe Wilhelm Jr.
Staff Writer
Voters from Duval, Clay and Nassau Counties will decide two judicial races in the Fourth Circuit when they head to the polls on Aug. 26. Group 11 candidates Mark Hulsey III and Adrian Soud and Group 28 Candidates Rick Buttner and Virginia Norton have been campaigning throughout these three counties to tell people what they will do if elected to the bench.
The following profiles will provide readers with information that focuses more on who they are rather than what they will do if they are elected and take the bench Jan. 1.
Group 11
Hulsey
Mark Hulsey
Age: 57, I’ll be 58 on July 24
Place of birth: Jacksonville
Marital status: married to wife Donna for 11 years
Kids: four, three boys ages 21, 23, 33 and a girl, 36
Grandkids: five, three boys, ages 1, 6 and a half, 10, and two girls, 3 and 4
Pets: No, but I am a dog person
Pets growing up: A dog and a yellow parakeet named Elvis
High School: Robert E. Lee
College: University of Florida, bachelor’s in history, attended University of Southern California (Augsburg, Germany Campus) while serving in the Army, master’s in international studies, and George Mason School of Law, J.D.
Favorite job before college: Page for U.S. Rep. Charlie Bennett. Met former President Gerald Ford before he became president.
Last book read: John Adams by David McCollough
Favorite television show: Fan of the History Channel
Favorite television or film judge: Spencer Tracy in Judgment at Nuremburg
Favorite sports teams: Atlanta Braves, Jaguars and Boston Celtics
Q. Why did you choose the law?
I was always curious about the law growing up watching my father practice. I always wanted to help people and that’s what I’ve done as a lawyer.
Q. Your family has a known name in the law community, but does your opponent’s name take away from that?
No, I’m running to be a candidate because of the amount of my experience, the length of my experience and the diversity of my experience. Not because of a name.
Q. What would you be doing if you weren’t a lawyer?
I’d be a teacher.
Q. What is something that you are proud of and why?
I’m proud of being a father and grandfather, and that I have assisted in raising four good children. I’m also proud of my wife Donna who is retiring from the Duval County School System after 40 years of service. The public school system is very important to the well being of this country.
Q. When people look back at your life, how do you want to be remembered?
As an honest man whose word was his bond and tried to treat everyone with respect, and a loving son, husband, father and grandfather.
Q. What are some of the things you find yourself doing that you never thought you would do?
Running for public office. I’m glad I’m running, but I never thought I would. It’s incredibly time consuming.
Q. What do you do with your free time?
Before campaign, when I had free time, my wife and I would ride bicycles, travel, play tennis and attend college football games.
Q. What would be your last meal?
Start off with a shrimp cocktail, salad with Ken’s Steak House Sweet Vidalia Onion dressing, steak and potato and bread pudding for desert. I love bread pudding.
Soud
Adrian Soud
Age: 34
Place of birth: Jacksonville
Marital status: married to wife Marcie for 7 years
Kids: two daughters Emily, 4 and Elizabeth, 4 months
Pets: No, wife won’t let me have a dog
Pets growing up: Had a dog as a kid.
High school: University Christian
College: University of Florida, bachelor’s in journalism, Stetson University School of Law, J.D.
Favorite job before college: Nursing technician at Baptist Medical Center Emergency Room. The stress of the job for somebody that age was a real eye-opening to the world. Very real learning experience.
Favorite television show: “24” is very good, “Seinfeld” was good in its day.
Favorite television or film judge: Judge Chamberlain Haller from “My Cousin Vinny.” (Ed. Note. The name of the judge took a little research. First referred to as the judge that played Herman Munster.)
Favorite sports teams: Gators and Jags, and occasionally the Chicago Cubs.
Last book read: Book on George Washington.
Q. Why did you choose the law?
Having family in law, I grew up loving it. Also had a love for history of law and the constitution, and that is where the law meets the people.
Q. Do you feel the amount of experience your opponent has gives him an edge?
No, I have experience as well. I haven’t been practicing family law for as long as he has but I came out of law school and worked general practice for Holland and Knight. That gave me the chance to represent a variety of different people in different areas of law. Having a balanced experience in those different instances prepares me to fulfill the responsibilities of being a judge.
Q. Does the family name help or hinder you?
I am very proud of both of my parents for their public and private live. The one thing that parents leave their kids is there name, and, in my case, that has a very good context. I think my brother and I have worked hard to establish our own identities and we have built a firm that we are very proud of.
Q. What would you be doing if you weren’t a lawyer?
I would be a doctor, because of my experience at Baptist Medical Center.
Q. What is something that you are proud of and why?
Proud of my family, wife and daughters, I married way above myself. My wife is a great mother. Girls are great girls. The campaign is hard on a lot of fronts, but it is hardest on the loss of family time.
Q. When people look back at your life, how do you want to be remembered?
I was a Christian man whose life was proof of his faith. I faithfully fulfilled the role of husband and father and someone who took the solemn responsibilities of his profession very seriously and discharged his duties with the utmost of integrity and his abilities.
Q. What are some of the things you find yourself doing that you never thought you would do?
Never imagined that I would be fishing with a little girl with a Snow White fishing reel. I grew with up with two brothers, so it’s a different experience, but one I wouldn’t change for anything in the world.
Q.What do you do with your free time?
A lot of family time, going to the beach. Enjoy the river, either jet skiing or fishing. I love to golf. Favorite courses, St. Johns Golf and Country Club and Deerwood.
Q.What would be your last meal?
Either a steak from Ruth’s Chris or a burger and fries from The Loop.
Group 28
Buttner
Rick Buttner
Age: 39, I’ll be 40 on July 31
Place of birth: Jacksonville
Marital status: married to wife Sharon for 16 years
Kids: boy 11, girl 6
Pets: White golden retriever named Cooper. He looks like a polar bear. We also have some fish and hermit crabs.
High school: Bishop Kenny
College: Valdosta State University, bachelor’s in organizational communications, Cumberland School of Law at Samford University, J.D.
Favorite job before college: Working at my dad’s law office on Adams Street. I’d get done school and ride the bus over to his office.
Last book read: “Blue Horizon” by Wilbur Smith
Favorite television show: “Jeopardy”
Favorite television or film judge: Don’t watch the television shows because I’m usually at work when they are on. The last one I remember is Judge Wapner.
Favorite sports teams: Go Jags.
Q. Why did you choose the law?
With my family, Uncle and dad, in law, I always thought I wanted to go to law school. I have a need to help people. When you come to see a lawyer, rarely is it a good situation. You are helping people who need help.
Q. What would you be doing if you weren’t a lawyer?
I’d probably be a pilot if I weren’t color blind.
Q. What is something that you are proud of and why?
My family. They are the most important thing in my life. I was driving my kids to school one day and my daughter was sitting there with this deep look of concentration. I asked her what she was thinking about and she told me she had come up with an idea for my campaign.
“We could get a really big sign (stretching her arms out as far as they could reach) that says ‘Vote for Rick Buttner’ and we could put it on top of our house.”
That really made me proud.
Q. When people look back at your life, how do you want to be remembered?
As someone who was a generally honest, fair and good person. An ordinary person who was interested in public service and valued his community.
Q. What are some of the things you find yourself doing that you never thought you would do?
Never thought I’d run for public office. Once you realize what it takes to run a campaign, maintain your work schedule and raise a family, its tough. My family never had experience with campaigning before. My father (Circuit Court Judge Frederic Buttner) was appointed by the governor, so he didn’t have to campaign.
Q. What do you do with your free time?
Love the outdoors. True love is off-shore fishing. I hooked a 300-400 pound marlin last year, but it only lasted 10-15 seconds. Didn’t get him in the boat, but it was truly fun to watch him dancing on the water.
Q. What would be your last meal?
Lobster and steak, surf and turf.
Norton
Virginia Norton
Age: 36
Place of birth: Jacksonville
Marital status: single
Pets: No, but I plan to get a dog once the campaign is over. Don’t think I could be a responsible pet owner during the campaign.
Pets growing up: We had ducks, dogs, cats, turtles and fish.
High School: Bolles
College: University of Virginia, bachelor’s in rhetoric and communications studies, University of Florida Law School, J.D.
Favorite job before college: I worked at a veterinary hospital. I love animals. The job allowed me to work with the public at a young age and helped me develop skills working with people and how to handle stressful situations.
Last book read: Florida Statutes, really, I’m not making that up.
Favorite television show: Fox News
Favorite television or film judge: (Former New York) Judge Leslie Crocker Snyder, she is a commentator for NBC. She’s a responsible reporter on legal issues.
Favorite sports teams: Gator football and some UVA games
Q. Why did you choose the law?
It was always something I was interested in. As an undergrad at Virginia I was on the student council when we had to make a decision on the constitutionality of a campus magazine “Wide Awake Christian.” The decision went all the way to the Supreme Court.
I saw the power of the law through that experience and how an individual can make a difference through law.
Q. You have been through both the election and appointment process for a judge seat. What have you learned from these experiences?
They are completely different. The appointment process is more like an interview. You meet with the selection committee and the governor and they ask you to discuss the law. The campaign process involves meeting thousands of people, which I love because I’m a people person, and it’s about getting your message out and letting people know what you are about.
Q. What would you be doing if you weren’t a lawyer?
I consider myself a writer, so I’d probably teach at the college level or something that keeps me writing.
Q. What is something that you are proud of and why?
Proud to have dedicated my legal career to public service. I’ve been committed to public service from a young age and I am proud that I have held to that commitment.
Q. When people look back at your life, how do you want to be remembered?
As a person of integrity, a family person, person of faith and a person who gave a lot more than she took.
Q. What are some of the things you find yourself doing that you never thought you would do?
I never say never. I never thought I’d be learning so much about Northeast Florida or that I’d be getting invited to so many different communities.
Q. What do you do with your free time?
I love to go to the gym, writing, cooking and spending time with family and friends.
Q. What would be your last meal?
It would be made by my mom. Fried chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans, fried okra and anything with butter cream frosting on it.
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