To the voters of the North District of Pearl River County

I, Don Lee, am announcing my candidacy for the office of Justice Court Judge. I am running Republican. I have lived in Pearl River County for all my life and raised in the Progress community.

My father was the late Orveal Lee and my mother is Myrtis Lee who resides in the Progress community. I am married to Elaine Mitchell, the daughter of the late Charles Mitchell and Irene Mitchell who lives in the Derby community. I have one daughter, Miranda Beech; four grandchildren and one great-grandchild. I am 60 years of age. I am employed with the Pat Harrison Water Ways District, where I am supervisor. I am a member of New Bethel Baptist Church. I served seven years in the Mississippi National Guard.

I graduated from Mississippi Gulf Coast Junior College. I’ve been involved in law enforcement since 1972. I graduated from the Mississippi Law Enforcement Academy. I’ve been an instructor with the Mississippi Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks Dept. since 1985. I graduated from USM in criminal justice and court procedure. I’ve also been to school in narcotics, schooling in the criminal mind and behavior patterns and public relations in law enforcement.

I was elected to the Poplarville Board of Aldermans 1997-2000. If elected to Justice Court Judge, I think being in law enforcement will give me a better insight in different cases that might come up in court and how to deal with each case. If elected, I will always go into court with an open mind, listen to each case and be able to render a fair and impartial decision.

I know when a person has to go to court for whatever reason, they want to get things over. So in order to do that, I think a judge should try a case for when it is set for, not postpone it for two or three weeks. Try it and move on to the next. It keeps a person from having to keep coming back time after time. if elected, I’m going to be in control of the courtroom and make my own decisions after I’ve heard the case. Knowing the law and knowing how to apply it is good, but the best thing is to have just good, common sense that God gave me. Each case is different and it has to be handled in that way. God comes first in my life and if elected, God will come first in the courtroom also. If elected, I’ll always have my phone number listed so I will always be available to talk with whoever needs to talk with me.

So on Aug. 7, go to the polls and vote for and elect a person who will be honest and open minded, sober and willing to listen.

Vote Don Lee, Justice Court Judge, North District Pearl River County and may God bless you.