Hahnville lawyer Lauren Lemmon won the 29th Judicial District’s Division D seat on Oct. 4 after capturing 56 percent of the vote and knocking off incumbent Judge Kirk Granier.
But for Lemmon, the victory didn’t actually sink in until the next day.
“It was hard to believe it was actually over and I had won,” Lemmon said. “In fact, it was still hard to believe when I arrived home late that night. I woke up early to read it in the newspaper to help me believe it was really true.”
Lemmon says that the win finally sunk in when she returned home from church the afternoon after her victory to find 57 messages on her answering machine – every one of them a call of congratulations.
Lemmon began her campaign for office last December, but this was really something she has been campaigning for since she was 10 years old.
Both of her parents are judges and Lemmon says they taught her that she could do anything as long as she worked hard and did the right thing. When she was 10, that message really hit home and she knew that one day she wanted to be a judge.
“I am sure at that age I did not understand completely what was involved to be a judge, but that is when I first remember wanting to be a judge,” Lemmon said.
To help her accomplish her goal, she studied psychology and philosophy in college. That training has come in handy throughout her 18-year career as a lawyer.
“As an attorney, I always found myself looking at what was fair and right as opposed to only what a client thinks or believes is right,” Lemmon said. “In fact, as a young attorney right out of law school, I was assigned to write a brief for my boss in a law firm in downtown New Orleans. When he called me into his office to critique the writing, he commented that it was clear I understood the facts and the law, but he said ‘the problem is I do not know what side you are on.’
“I tend to look at both sides and try to determine what is fair.”
Lemmon first considered running for judge six years ago, but her children were too young at the time and she eventually decided that she was not quite ready. However, she made up her mind that she would run for judge in the next election. When she officially kicked off her campaign last December, she quickly mobilized a large group of supporters.
“We had a lot of support in every area of the parish and we identified leaders from each area and grew a little more each week,” Lemmon said. “The momentum never stopped.”
Lemmon says one reason she was able to attract so many supporters was because of the many parish activities that her and her children take part in.
“We have stood on ball fields, at church activities and other events together for years,” she said. “My involvement in other civic activities, such as Rotary Club and United Way, has allowed me to work with and befriend many leaders in the community.”
That support was evident in the election’s large voter turnout.
Overall, 10,329 votes were cast, with Lemmon taking 5,804 of those.
“I was quite surprised at the turnout,” Lemmon said. “Historically, a lot of people do not pay attention to judicial races. Some experts predicted a 14 to 16 percent turnout of the vote and 31 percent voted. I think this is partially because we ran a well organized and positive campaign, started early, and stayed out there throughout.”
And now that the campaigning is over, Lemmon has her sights set on Jan. 1 – the day she begins her six-year term for the 29th Judicial District judgeship.
Lemmon says she has a lot to learn in the transitional time from attorney to judge, but her first goal is to learn as much as she can about running a professional and efficient office and courtroom. In addition, she wants to make the docket run more smoothly and improve the entire process for litigants.
“I will also continue to work on programs for juveniles and adult first offenders to try to keep them from becoming repeat offenders,” she said. “In my experience as an attorney, the mental health aspect of some cases is critical.
“While we have good resources, we need to collaborate with the mental health professionals and school system to continue to improve.”
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