After more than two decades, Brown County has a new circuit court judge.
Republican Mary Wertz will succeed Judge Judith Stewart when she retires at the end of this year.
“I’m happy, relieved and thrilled. My husband and I worked very hard to make this happen. I’m just very happy and happy that the voters placed their confidence in me. It’s humbling,” Wertz said.
Wertz defeated Democrat Kristopher Kritzer by more than 1,600 votes. Wertz received 4,393 votes to Kritzer’s 2,754.
“I’m disappointed,” Kritzer said.
“I know that Mary Wertz will make a great judge. The county is in good hands in the judiciary. I know that the citizens will be well-served. We had different ideas on how to accomplish certain things, but I know she’ll do a great job.”
Kritzer was watching the returns with the local Democratic Party in the basement of the Seasons Lodge, but went to congratulate Wertz in person at the Seasons Conference Center where the Republicans were celebrating.
“I certainly thanked him for the positive campaign he ran. His concern for the wellbeing of citizens of Brown County was obvious and I appreciated the focus he placed on the drug issue,” Wertz said.
“He’s a great person and we share a passion for public service. I know he’ll be successful in whatever he chooses to do in the future.”
Wertz said she will work to find solutions to the drug crisis here “that will work for Brown County, which is unique in many, many ways, and try to think out of the box on what we can do.”
“I’ll explore the drug court, and if it’s feasible and it’s doable, I will certainly pursue that with all of my heart and effort. In the meantime, I think there are other things we can do to increase our supervision and our aggressiveness on handling this crisis that affects all of us.”
Wertz has been a trial attorney in both civil and criminal courts for nearly 28 years.
She served as the chief deputy prosecutor in Brown County for 16 years. She currently serves as the deputy prosecutor in Bartholomew County prosecuting all types of felony crimes.
She also served as deputy attorney general and and agency litigator representing the state of Indiana for four years in civil litigation in state and federal courts.
