Double Barreled Opinions

Dear Friends:

As you know, I have filed to be your District Court Judge in the November election.

Why should you care who serves as our District Court Judge here in Alamance County?

Here are a few good reasons:

WHEN YOUR COURTS DON'T WORK, YOU LOSE MONEY.
We now have the largest backlog of civil cases in district court in the history of our county, yet every week the doors to your courthouse close for business in the afternoons, and your 30 million dollar investment of local tax dollars stand idle. If the backlog continues, it will not be long before the Democrats cook up another lawsuit to get a bigger courthouse, and guess who will pay the tab?

If you will help me, I will deliver to you an honest day's work for an honest days pay, that's my pledge.

OUR COMMUNITY HAS BEEN INVADED.
We have an invasion of illegal immigrants who have committed crimes and pass through the courthouse everyday. My liberal opponent does nothing to identify the people who are in our county illegally committing crimes, then processed by Sheriff Johnson through the 287(g) program.
If you will help me, I pledge to identify and process illegal aliens who are violating our laws through ICE program here in Alamance County. This is not just the federal law enforcement's job, it's the job of all of our public servants.

CRIMINALS NEED TO BE PUNISHED, NOT CODDLED.
We have in our county, certain lawyers and legislators, who want to treat 16 and 17 year old thugs as juveniles, sending them to training school, not prison. Well, as we recently saw in Chapel Hill, 17 year olds can be very dangerous. When they commit crimes like an adult, they need to be punished like an adult. [note: Keith is referring to the March 5th, 2008 murder of University of North Carolina student body president Eve Carson]

Our community deserves to be safe. This includes our streets, schools, and homes. Gangs and gang violence will not be tolerated if I am your judge.

I pledge to you that criminals will not be coddled, if you elect me judge.

There are other reasons to support my efforts to become your judge. I am a true conservative. I am a member of the NRA, I own a handgun (and know how to use it). I am a small businessman and know that government should stay out of the lives of its people if at all possible.

I am against the funding of a public defender's office in Alamance County. Not because criminals don't need lawyers, they do. Because the private sector can provide this service better than a government agency, and at a lower cost to you, the local tax payer. You shouldn't have to buy their office and pay for their equipment and furniture.

If you want to help us in this effort, please call Anita at 336-228-1433. You can sign up to work a poll or for a yard sign. I need your help and I want to be your judge.

Your friend,

Keith

Keith Whited, attorney in Burlington, announced today that he would file for election for District Court Judge in Alamance County.

Keith, age 52, has been practicing here since 1982, and served in a variety of local positions, including the Alamance County Attorney's office from 1982 to 1986. He was a principal in the firm of Latham, Wood, Hawkins & Whited, LLP of Graham, and has more than 26 years of experience in the civil and criminal courts of Alamance County. He is admitted to practice in the Middle and Eastern District of Federal Court. He is also admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court. He is currently the Graham City Attorney, General Counsel to the Alamance Farmers Mutual Insurance Company, General Counsel to Clearwater Springs of Caswell, LLC, and principal in the firm of Patterson Whited Law Firm, PLLC, Burlington, North Carolina.

Keith served as Chairman of the Joint Facilities Oversight Committee appointed by the Board of County Commissioners and the ABSS School Board to review the needs for new school construction. Later, the Board of Alamance County Commissioners appointed Keith as an independent investigator to determine the internal cause of the loss of information from the Register of Deeds. In 2000, the State Chairman of the Republican Party nominated Keith for the appointment as the United States Attorney for the Middle District of North Carolina. Keith presently serves as the Chairman of the Alamance County Board of Health, which won its statewide accreditation last year.

When asked why he is seeking the office at this time, Keith replied, "This office belongs to the people of Alamance County. When Judge Harviel retired last fall, I informed my colleagues that I would seek this post in the spring. Unfortunately, Governor Easley chose to appoint a liberal lawyer, giving him the advantage of being an incumbent. This position is too important to play politics as usual. It will be a difficult race, but it's a choice that belongs to our citizens, not some liberal governor. When elected, I intend to enforce the law in a way that is less burdensome on the taxpayer. I will get the work of the Courts done in an efficient, fair and effective manner, making our schools and streets safer."

"I have invested my life in this community. I was born in the old County Hospital, went to school here, been in business here, married here, go to church here, raised my family here, and educated my children here. My well rounded professional experiences and personal background make me the best candidate for this position and I am ready to serve from the first day in office."

Keith is married to the former Lynn Frye of Alamance, and they have 4 children.