Editor’s note: With the upcoming primary election, the Times-Union is running a story each day about a Republican candidate for judge of Kosciusko Superior Court III, in alphabetical order. This is the last in the four stories.

Chad Miner, 41, was the first person to announce his candidacy for judge of Kosciusko Superior Court III.

He is up against Republicans Rob Bishop, Lindsey Grossnickle and Karin McGrath. Judge Joe Sutton is leaving the bench after more than 20 years. Superior Court III’s docket ranges from felony criminal cases to civil litigation.

Miner lives in Silver Lake with his wife, Rachel, where he also serves as the Silver Lake Town Council president.

He is currently a managing partner at Miner & Lemon in Warsaw.

“My practice area is pretty broad,” he said. “I do civil litigation, I deal with criminal matters, estate and business planning, estate administration and kind of a hodge podge of miscellaneous, just types of whatever comes through the door, and obviously I’m the county attorney as well.”

Miner has been the county attorney since 2014 and has served on the Silver Lake Town Council since 2011. If he’s elected, he would have to resign his position on the council.

“That would obviously be a really sad thing for me because I’ve really enjoyed my time on the council,” he said. “I always think local government is where really important stuff happens and some of it might not seem like major things, but you can tell for the people that come, it’s really important.”

Miner’s thinking about his work on the council can translate into Superior III, where small claims and civil litigants who are oftentimes unrepresented come before the court.

“These cases are nonetheless very important to the litigants involved and they deserve the opportunity to be heard and receive a decision that has been given due consideration and thought out carefully,” Miner said.

Miner also has served as a delegate to the GOP State Convention and as a precinct committeeman for Lake 1, Lake 2 and Jackson 1. He is also involved in several community organizations such as having served on the YMCA board of directors and a past president of the Warsaw Rotary Club.

He believes that his experience with the Silver Lake Town Council and the nonprofit organizations he’s involved with has provided him with a deeper understanding of the needs and concerns of Kosciusko County.

“I’m a lifelong resident of Kosciusko County, so I feel a deep connection to the county and I care a lot about the county,” he said. “So I think that this would be an opportunity for me to put my skills and abilities to use for the county, and so that’s a lot of what’s motivating me. You know, I’ve filled in as judge pro tem quite a few times, and I think I’ve been effective when I filled in. As judge pro tem, I’ve presided over a number of trials and hearings, so I’ve had quite a bit of experience with actually doing the job, and I think I’m good at it, and I enjoy it. I always look forward to going up there and filling in, and so you know, I?guess those are kind of the main points. It’s a way for me to do something good for my community, I think it’s something I’m good at and it’s something that I enjoy doing.”

When asked about comments that have been publicly made about him running on serving as judge pro tem and some referring to that as simply being a “substitute teacher,” Miner said: “First of all, I think that the fact that someone is appointed to serve as judge pro tem you know, over and over again, does show that the judge and the court staff have confidence in that person’s ability to do that job. If you kind of think about yourself, it’s like well, if you take pride in your work and if you’re going to be gone for the day, you’re going to pick somebody to fill in for you that’s going to do a good job, so I think there’s that. And the idea that a judge pro tem doesn’t do anything, I think particularly for Superior Court III, I think is not correct. It’s not something that you just go up there and sit all day and dont’ do anything. You’re actually doing the work. I think having actually done the job from time to time that I’d like to do it on a full-time basis, I think what better way would you have to prepare yourself to do that than to actually get some practice in ahead of time.”

If anyone in Kosciusko County doesn’t know what Chad Miner looks like, they must not have turned any corner in the county. Miner has billboards and yard signs just about everywhere one looks.

“The campaigning that I’ve done is a reflection of how serious and committed I?am,” he said. “It’s something that I feel very strongly that I’m ready to do it. I think I would do a good job, I think I could be an asset to the community and I’m very committed to winning this election.”

Miner said his broad experience of dealing with all sorts of people through his private practice and through his county attorney work sets him up to be a good judge.

“I’ve got pretty broad experience in dealing with all sorts of people, and I do court-appointed criminal defense work in Superior II, and so you’re dealing with a lot of folks who have a lot of problems and issues that a lot of us are fortunate enough that we don’t have to deal with,” he said. “In the business and estate planning work I do, you know, I deal with a lot of farmers and business owners and people that are doing well in life, and of course being the county attorney that brings me into contact with a lot of local government leaders, so I’ve got a pretty broad based exposure.”