For use by Stonewall Democrats of Dallas

2014 Judicial Candidate Questionnaire:

(Note: Judicial candidates are asked to ONLY answer the Judicial Candidate
questionnaire,
and NO the Count! or "tate Le#el questionnaire$%
1. Why are you seekng the endorsement from Stonewa Democrats of Daas?
I am seekng the endorsement from Stonewa Democrats of Daas because I beeve
ths group s extremey mportant for two reasons. Frst, I beeve that the LGBT
communty needs a strong voce n order to get egsaton passed whch ensures that
a are treated equay. I thnk the LGBT communty s we represented by the
Stonewa Democrats. Stonewa s a very strong actve and potca group. I beeve
that a persons are equa and each person shoud receve the same benefts regardess
of who they are. In order to get aws passed to ensure members of the LGBT
communty are treated equay, there needs to be a strong presence and voce and
Stonewa Democrats are great advocates for the LGBT communty at arge. I am a
straght ay and am proud to be a member of the Stonewa Democrats. Secondy,
besdes what the Stonewa Democrats do for members of the LGBT communty, t s
cear what Stonewa Democrats do for potcs wthn Daas County. Stonewa has
done a fantastc |ob regsterng voters, encouragng them to vote and expanng who
the canddates are. I recognze the hard work ths group does and know that we woud
not have turned Daas bue n 2006 and kept t bue wthout ths hard work. I am
proud to be a member of Stonewa and woud be proud to be endorsed by the
Stonewa Democrats of Daas.
2. What are your pans to partcpate n a coordnated campagn n the genera
eecton?
I had a Repubcan opponent for the ast two eecton cyces and understand the
mportance of the coordnated campagn. Wthout the work of the unopposed
canddates n the genera eecton we a woud not have won n 2006 and 2010.
Therefore, even though I do not have an opponent n the genera eecton, I pan to
work as hard as I dd durng the 2006 and 2010 campagns. Ths nvoves donatng to
the coordnated campagn and most mportanty knockng on as many doors as
possbe and gettng the vote out.
3. W you use the Stonewa Democrats of Daas endorsement n or on:
a) your webste - yes
b) your campagn terature and maers - yes
c) your soca meda assets (Twtter, Facebook, etc.) - yes
d) your campagn advertsements - yes
4. When eected, how w you recrut, retan, and create a frendy envronment for
LGBT and LGBT-frendy staff?
I beeve that the person you hre shoud be the best person for the |ob. I ony have
two empoyees but f I need to hre someone I w ensure that a ndvduas who appy
are gven the same opportunty. Even though I ony have two empoyees, we have
severa peope workng n the court who are hred by other departments. I ensure that
the envronment wthn ths partcuar court s a frendy envronment for everyone. We
treat everyone wth respect and farness and do not toerate any sort of pre|udce. We
had severa gatherngs over the hodays and everyone s nvted and encouraged to be
nvoved.
5. Woud you be wng to appont a ason to meet wth the LGBT communty on a
ongong bass? If not, why? Yes.
6. Understandng that admnstratve matters can take up a sgnfcant percentage of
your work day, what are some deas for poces or procedures that you thnk you
can mprove court operatons for the court whch you are seekng offce? What are
the most mportant poces or procedures you've dentfed as needng
mprovement?
I have made severa changes and advances over the ast 7 years as |udge of Daas
County Crmna Court No. 9. Frst, I have substantay owered the number of pendng
actve cases n ths court. I dd ths by workng hard each day and dentfyng the cases
that needed more attenton and worked wth the attorneys to resove the ssues.
Secondy I owered the number of cases watng for |ury tras from 270 to 60. If you
are a defendant and are seekng a |ury tra your frst settng for a tra w be wthn 2
months of requestng a tra. I dd ths by havng a consstent punshment pattern so
attorneys know what to expect for dfferent types of cases and by schedung severa
tras a week and actuay tryng them. I had the hghest number of dspostons n
2013 of a the county crmna courts and st receved 96% approva ratng n the
Daas Bar |udca Po by the attorneys who appear before me. I started a specaty
drug dvert court for prosttutes n 2009 whch heps those charged wth prosttuton
eave the fe of prosttutng, become sober and obtan housng. I understand the
mportance of workng hard and workng wth your team n order to mprove the court.
We have done many thngs, but we can aways mprove. In the ast 6 months, I worked
wth the Dstrct Attorneys offce as pot court to mprove how the prosecutors hande
ther cases. The new system works we and the number of cases pendng s reducng
even more than n prevous years.
I, Peggy Hoffman, am seekng an endorsement from the Stonewa Democrats of Daas.
Sgned_____________Peggy Hoffman__________________
Date____12/29/13_______________