Why Elizabeth Murray Kolb is NOT a Good Choice for County Court-at-Law Judge

For those voters who prefer cold hard facts over political rhetoric and singing and dancing, the below public record is about as cold and hard as it gets. The following should be considered when making a decision on who to vote for... or who not to vote for.

Elizabeth Murray-Kolb made it clear to the voters in this district that District Attorney Heather McMinn and the Sheriff are her political enemies. Ms. Kolb failed in an attempt to use a very tragic drowning death of a child to damage both D.A. McMinn's and Sheriff Zwicke's reputation.

http://m.gonzalesinquirer.com/mobile/news/article_26bc2e64-6416-11e1-990e-001871e3ce6c.html

The Gonzales Enquirer noted the following testimony during the hearing:
An emotional Rollins, who testified Tuesday, lashed out at Murray-Kolb, charging that the court of inquiry was politically motivated. “When you have people such as Mrs. Kolb and Mrs. [Patricia] Finch using the tragic drowning of a 12-year-old girl for political purposes, it’s the lowest of the low. It angers me so much I can hardly stand it.”
The Gonzales Enquirer also noted Seguin attorney Finch, who was seen sitting with Murray-Kolb in the courtroom during the inquiry, is challenging McMinn for the 25th Judicial District Attorney seat in November 2011... During testimony at the court of inquiry, Murray-Kolb acknowledged long-standing animosity between her and McMinn. Cozily seated next to Murray-Kolb were her good buddies former D.A. Vicki Patillo and D.A. candidate Patricia Finch. Heather McMinn booted Ms Patillo out of office in the last election, and despite the mudslinging Patricia Finch also lost to Heather.

Patricia did lose by the cruelest of slim margins, in part due to allegations that came up late in the election, not raised by Heather, but by this Blogger. This included, among many unpleasant things, that former District Attorney wannabee Patricia Finch has a long time boyfriend who has a criminal rap sheet of organized crime, DUI arrests, and public intoxication.

Which rolls into a little story of unlawful favoritism by Ms Kolb's office and what happened after Attorney Finch's lover boy was arrested in Guadalupe County for this 3rd DWI (but really 4th), and how Ms. Kolb as our County Attorney appeared to be complicit in what occurred.

Ms. Kolb was at the helm of the County Attorney Office for many years. Her office was responsible for prosecuting misdemeanor DUI's, which are generally the first two convictions. Anything over two convictions jumps from misdemeanor to felony, and by law handled by the District Attorney Office.

The Seguin Gazette reported on 6/25/1982 Mr. Grein had to be cut out of his vehicle after taking out a light pole and power to a neighborhood on Hwy 90, and was arrested for being under the influence. DWI #1. But in those days records could more easily 'get lost' in Seguin. So it is not shown in the below record.

http://judicial.co.guadalupe.tx.us/default.aspx



But the record does indeed show Mr. Grein has DWI convictions in Guadalupe County in 1991, 1999, and 2007. The last offense states it was the 2nd offense. So 1+1+1 equals 2 in Seguin?

Long before 2007 Texas abolished the former DWI look-back period, which allowed old DWI convictions to not be counted. The law now requires ALL prior convictions be counted, which applies retroactively with no grandfather clause. Texas Penal Code §49.0(b)(2) states that a DWI is a FELONY of the third degree if it is shown the person has previously been convicted two times of any other offense relating to the operating of a motor vehicle while intoxicated․ This individual was facing a STATE JAIL FELONY of not less than two years.

Ms. Kolb's office quietly stepped in and circumvented Texas law by treating his 3rd offense as a 2nd offense. This by pretending the 1991 conviction did not count, which unethically manipulated this down to a misdemeanor with 30 days in jail and probated fines. That's a heck of a lot sweeter than what the law required, which was a felony conviction and no less than two years in jail.

If you look a little deeper into this Guadalupe County public criminal record online it gets interesting.



This record shows that County Court-at-Law judge Linda Jones (who Ms. Kolb now seeks to replace) convicted this person not once but twice in her court in 1991 and 1999. Judge Linda Jones coddled this man for her buddy attorney Patricia Finch by PROBATING his fines and sentence, meaning he walked away with little more than a wrist slap for his three DUI's. A third appearance in Judge Jones court would have been difficult for her to pretend he had only been there twice, so this case was handed to Judge Follis so he could (wink wink) take care of this little problem. Plausible deniability. Over the years these two judges have unethically tag teamed cases they needed taken care of.

Its a darned good thing for this district that Linda Jones is leaving office, and even better that the voters gave her husband Larry Jones a boot in the rear in this year's election.

Court-at-law Judge Follis and county attorney Kolb had absolutely NO jurisdiction or legal authority to handle a third strike felony DWI case. By law this case was out of their hands and must have been transferred up to the District Attorney and a District Court Judge. But the case does not go to district judge until the district attorney takes it there. But since Patricia's buddy Vicki Patillo was District Attorney at that time, no problem. Don't ask don't tell.

This being the small community and small county attorney office that it is, most folks are not stupid enough to believe Ms. Kolb as the County Attorney was not very much aware of what transpired between her office and the court. Or that Judge Follis did not knowingly allow his court to be used to pull a fast one.

If this alcoholic who was coddled by our County Attorney and Courts-at-Law ever raises his game to intoxication manslaughter, we will know who to blame in large part for that.

Think the above is an isolated case of impropriety by these folks? Think again... This blogger knows each and every one of them.

Ms. Kolb later quit her position as Guadalupe County Attorney to make a run for Texas Railroad Commissioner, and fell flat on her face. She now wants the taxpayers to put her back on their payroll as a County Court-at-Law judge. Beats the heck out of working for a living as an attorney in Seguin.

Why in the world should we elect Ms Kolb to be a Judge, after she has shown evidence of violating the law for friends, and made it clear she is a political enemy of our District Attorney and Sheriff ??

While ones own military service record may certainly reflect one's character and possibly fitness for political office, of which Ms Kolb has no military service, her willingness to milk her relatives military service for her own gain is shameful.

Ms Kolb has not shown herself to be honest enough or even better qualified and endorsed than her opponent... despite what her flag waving and apple pie campaign suggests. There are a few turds in that pie.

If anyone feels the record as shown here is incorrect or misleading, and that Ms Kolb's office did indeed follow the law in prosecuting Patricia Finch's boyfriends fourth DUI case, feel free to comment...

Did One Little Blog Defeat Attorney Patricia Finch's Bid for District Attorney?

Karma...

As expected, Patricia Finch LOST her race for District Attorney.
Damned close race... but no cigar.

But the best elections are those that are squeaky close. These are ones in which every vote really does count, and everything that went into winning or losing an election counts.

This Blogger is VERY gratified by numbers that suggest this Blog may have turned the tide on this race against Patricia Finch and helped avoid a disaster.
The anti-Finch4DA Blog had over 900 views the month leading up to the election.
Patricia Finch lost by 152 votes.

The Seguin Gazette allowed comments made here to remain on their website, which raises the above number of views well over 1000. Then there is always the ripple effect to add more to that.
So its a darn good bet this blog turned this election against Patricia
That kind of loss has really really gotta hurt.

On primary day, Patricia was probably ecstatic and jumping up and down feeling that she had actually beat Heather and WON this primary early in the evening, before the Guadalupe County voters trumped Lavaca and Gonzales counties and handed Finch a loss.

This is one hard kick in Patricia Finch's rear end if she lost this election because of this Blogger

Karma...
Over 1000 people had an opportunity to see a side of political candidate Patricia Finch no one else in this small community was willing to come out and publicly state, even anonymously.
While this blogger remains anonymous to most folks, this being a small town and all, Patricia, Judge Kirkendall, DA McMinn and a few local attorneys have a pretty darn good idea who this Blogger is. And how this blogger was able to quote things they said, and which this blogger personally knows, about Patricia's character issues and her unfitness for the office of DA. Then again, none of these attorneys would ever consider endorsing Patricia's bid for District Attorney.
Given her professional and personal character issues, it was an incredibly stupid move for Patricia to step foot into the political arena. And open herself up to public bashing and ridicule. The old bat must be getting senile or just totally oblivious to remarks her peers have been making behind her back for years.

Unfortunately for other candidates such as Elizabeth Murray Kolb, being too personally close to Patricia very likely cost her an opportunity to become a judge, since she too lost by a very slim margin. This after it was shown online that as the former County Attorney her office gave preferential treatment to Patricia's boyfriend who has a long rapsheet of DUI and drug arrests.

Judge Frank Follis and (thankfully) former Judge Linda Jones, names and professional reputations are tarnished as a result of their association with Patricia Finch, as it was shown they played games in their courts and violated the law. But for these judges their professional issues run far deeper than the issues noted here, and outside the scope of this blog.

Patricia has a unique way of really screwing those who associate with her.

Adios Patricia...
This community will be a far better place once you take down your shingle and fade away into retirement and obscurity... as you surely soon will. Please don't get stupid and waste the voters time thinking you have any chance of running again.

Who in the Hell is District Attorney Wanna Be Never Will Be Patricia Finch?

Divorce attorney Patricia Finch was a candidate for District Attorney of the 25th Judicial District of Texas. This district centers on Seguin and includes Guadalupe, Gonzales, and Lavaca counties. Ms Finch seeks to win the Republican Primary in May over incumbent Heather McMinn.

Attorney Patricia Finch lacks the experience, aptitude, skills, leadership, integrity, and plain good sense to be a District Attorney.

Divorce Attorney Patricia Finch has no business running for DA and should have stayed away from politics.

Folks here have a right to understand WHY this is so. 

Any attorney in private practice for thirty years who is called "unethical" and "manipulative" by their own peers and leaders of the legal community, is surely not the kind of attorney who should be a District Attorney.

For anyone inclined to question who would say such things about Patricia Finch, this blogger is inclined to say who did say it, and what they said. And if any fair open minded people are inclined to demand proof, that is not difficult. Simply ask those folks. But if the answers you get are weak denials, terse "no comments", or no response at all, those are the kinds of answers that tend to validate the truth.

District Judge Kirkendall was our District Attorney for over twenty years. He was respected enough to run unopposed for a coveted job as a District Court Judge. He continues to run unopposed. Judge Kirkendall has seen Patricia Finch's work over 30 years in small town Seguin.

Judge Kirkendall stated his personal opinion that "Patricia Finch is well known around Seguin as a highly unethical attorney who manipulates the law for her own benefit". He further stated that her behaviour in at least one divorce-custody case was "utterly bizarre". Comments like that are a real kick in the teeth for any attorney who has been in practice for over 30 years. And comments like that, when made by respected individuals, are generally well earned and well deserved.

District Attorney Heather McMinn, long before she became a DA, stated that Patricia Finch's behaviour in a divorce-custody case was reprehensible and that in her opinion Finch should have been sanctioned by the Texas Bar for that case.

It is this bloggers opinion Patricia Finch  should have been disbarred.

Most other local attorneys simply roll their eyes and decline comment when questions about Patricia Finch's character and integrity come up.

If anyone personally knows any local attorneys who have been around awhile, simply ASK them in private if the above is way off base... or not so far from the truth. Most should privately acknowledge there is probably more truth than not to the claims made here. Few if any would argue there is absolutely no truths in these claims.

Patricia Finch's long time LOSER boyfriend Clark Grein is a drunk and an alcoholic and four times divorced who has been arrested multiple times for DWI and public intoxication. He had four DWI driving arrests, the first of which he had to be cut out of his vehicle after knocking out power to several neighborhoods in town. From there he then went on to earn 3 DWI's and each time wound up with little more than a slap on the wrist from Patricia's good buddies sitting on both County Court-at-Law. This man is an INTOXICATION MANSLAUGHTER waiting to happen. He has also had a colorful arrest record including arrests for ORGANIZED CRIME and possession of controlled substances.

And the above record conveniently missed the first DWI arrest Mr Grein which the Gazette reported on 6/25/82 in which he had to be cut out of his vehicle. Do folks really believe that anyone who associates on a very intimate level with criminals should be a District Attorney? Especially in a small town such as Seguin where it is pretty clear that this criminal was not treated the same as most folks for his crimes? His last DWI in 2007 was mandated by law to be treated as a Felony. Yet it was quietly reduced to a misdemeanor and a slap on the wrist.

The scuttlebut is that Patricia's good buddy County Attorney Kolb and a couple of lower County Court-at-Law judges here are pretty adept at making exceptions and quietly circumventing the law as they see fit.

And now Patricia Finch has the gall to stand up and say word on the street is that Seguin is a "dirty little town" and that she is going to clean it up? Patricia is one of the biggest reasons Seguin has the reputation as the "dirty little town" she attributed to it.

Attorney Patricia Finch has been known to play fast and loose with the legal system and unethically manipulate the law for her own benefit. Not only has Judge Kirkendall suggested it, this blogger is personally aware of at least some of her dirty little games. This includes playing games with unfounded CPS complaints and temporary protective orders to manipulate child custody proceedings.

Only an attorney who is a completely incompetent moron would sit on their fat ass while forgetting to get final divorce decree signed for SIX MONTHS. In one case this neglect gave the other side plenty of time to prepare an appeal that would not have been possible if she had simply moved quickly to get the order signed and ended the case more quickly. This neglect cost her client thousands of dollars fighting an appeal, and one which Ms Finch was only to happy to charge her client. Most attorneys would call such inexcusable neglect legal MALPRACTICE. This also ended up costing the taxpayers thousands of dollars with Judge Jones choosing to file responses in Federal Court with high a very high dollar San Antonio law firm, as she apparently did not wish to air her dirty laundry with the County Attorneys office.

Patricia Finch's unethical, reckless, and irresponsible games are the most vile form of manipulation that has harmed the well being of many young children in this community.

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Don't just take the word of this blogger for the above statements.

It's a small town. Ask questions and poke around. Seek and you will find your answers.

If anyone personally knows any local attorneys who have been around awhile,

JUST ASK them in confidence if the above is way off base... or not that far from the truth.

Most should privately acknowledge there is probably more truth than not to the claims made here.

Few if any would argue there is absolutely no truths in these claims.

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Bottom line is Patricia Finch is NOT the kind of person this community needs as a District Attorney.

She is completely unsuitable for such a position of trust and authority in this community. Who in their right mind would want to vote for someone to be their District Attorney who a respected judge feels is and unethical and manipulative attorney. One who has been known for playing fast and loose with false CPS complaints and temporary protective orders to bolster her divorce cases.

We The People have an absolute right to be fully informed about our candidates for public office

... the good, the bad, and the ugly.

And from that we have an absolute right to make whatever decision we wish on who to vote for.


If after weighing everything, the voters are cool with the kind of candidate Patricia Finch is, and are still willing to vote for her as their District Attorney, that is their right.

Patricia is over 60 and has accomplished far less in her 30+ years of practicing law than incumbent District Attorney Heather who has less than half her experience. Now all of a sudden at this stage in her career Patricia wants to be a District Attorney, probably due in very large part to her ex running for District Judge.

We need to stop the revolving door in the District Attorneys office that was started with former DA Vicky Patillo who the voters gave a boot in the rear to after her first term as DA. Incumbent Heather is openly endorsed by law enforcement in all three counties, and has far more respect from the legal community than Patricia. These folks know much better about what really goes on behind the scenes, and what kind of work is really being done. than Patricia's empty rhetoric would lead some to believe.

We need a District Attorney who will be around for the long haul and bring some integrity and stability and direction to the D.A.'s office, such as former D.A. and now Judge Bud Kirkendall did during his 20 year tenure.

And for so many reasons, that will never ever be Patricia Finch.

And for now that District Attorney is Heather McMinn.

Links to both candidate websites:

www.patriciafinch4da.com

www.heathermcminn.com