Attorney starts campaign for judgeship early
The 2014 election cycle just ended, but for a local attorney, the campaigning is just beginning – for 2016, that is.
Carrie Vickery has already set a campaign in motion to run for a District Court judgeship.
Vickery, who works at the Holton Law Firm, began making plans to run in 2012. She has formed a campaign committee and begun raising funds.
“It has been a really conscious decision and something that I was interested in for a while,” she said. “I think it’s a really important position that requires and deserves someone that is going to think through it thoroughly before seeking the seat. To me, because I’m a planner, that means thinking through it ahead of time.”
Several local seats will be up for grabs on the 21st Judicial District bench in 2016. The 29-year-old is eyeing an expected vacancy. Judge William Graham, who has served since 1996, is expected to retire, forgoing a re-election bid.
Vickery said if there had not been an opening, she wouldn’t have challenged any of the sitting judges.
“I think they’re all great judges, and I think they all bring unique characteristics to the bench. I don’t have a problem with any of them, so I certainly don’t want them to leave,” she said.
The Rutherford County native came to Winston-Salem to attend high school at UNC School of the Arts. After graduating, she received her undergrad degree at Western Carolina University and then a law degree from Elon.
She has worked at Holton Law since 2009, practicing family law, criminal defense and civil litigation. Her work puts her in District Court often. She sees that experience as a great strength.
“I have practiced and continue to practice in every single courtroom in District Court,” she said. “I think that my varied experience coupled with the fact that I love what I do is important. It will bring a unique perspective to the bench,” she said.
Carrie Vickery poses with Alan Andrews, to whom she donated a kidney in 2013.
Vickery already has some name recognition. In December 2013, she donated a kidney to Assistant City Attorney Alan Andrews, whom she had only known for a short time. The act of selfless kindness earned her several awards, including one from The Chronicle, and made regional headlines.
Vickery’s boss, Walter Holton, is already on her side.
Holton
“I think it would be a good thing for the county if she is elected. She’s a hard worker and very dedicated to doing what’s right,” he said. “I believe she will call cases as she sees them and without being persuaded by someone’s position of influence. That’s what we need for our judges to do.”
A former U.S. Attorney under President Bill Clinton and a former Forsyth County District Attorney, Holton said he has encouraged ambitious colleagues in the past.
“When Lisa Menefee (who is now the chief local District Court judge) and I were law partners many years ago, we had similar conversations,” he said. “It’s a normal thing for a person with some drive and ambition to want to seek that position if that’s where your interests are. It’s a natural progression for people interested in the judiciary.”
Vickery says it is her passion for the law that drives her.
“I think it’s important to seek the bench for the right reasons and I think I have those reasons. The biggest one is I love what I do,” she said. “I think District Court is much more important than Superior Court because the average person will most likely interact with the District Court at some point in their lives.”
Vickery said she has received a lot of support from her husband, Phillip “Skip” Skipper Jr., family, friends and fellow congregants at Reynolda Church, EPC (Evangelical Presbyterian Church) of Winston-Salem.
For more information, go to www.facebook.com/VickeryforJudge.
