Door County attorney becomes the second candidate to announce their run for county judge
STURGEON BAY - Door County-based attorney Brett Reetz has announced he will run for the seat of Door County Branch 1 Circuit Court Judge in the April 2024 general election, making him the second candidate to declare their candidacy to replace the retiring Judge D. Todd Ehlers.
Reetz has practiced law in Door County for 31 years and works from his Reetz Law Office in downtown Sturgeon Bay. Working primarily as a trial lawyer, he has represented people in criminal cases from disorderly conduct to homicide to kidnapping charges, and argued in front of the Appellate Court and Supreme Court of the State of Wisconsin. He also has practiced law in counties across Wisconsin and in Illinois and co-chaired cases in Michigan and Florida.
Along with criminal law, his practice also includes civil litigation involving contracts and construction, personal injuries, real estate and family law, including divorce and custody.
Reetz is a Chicago native who has lived in Door County since 1992, the past 20 years in Baileys Harbor. He earned an undergraduate degree in economics from DePaul University in Chicago and graduated from the DePaul University College of Law in 1992, then passed the bar exams in Illinois and Wisconsin that same year.
In a news release announcing Reetz's candidacy, he said he believes that being a good a judge requires life experiences as well as credentials. He noted that until his last semester of law school, when he was 31 years old, he worked in construction as an iron worker, carpenter, electrician and laborer during the day and went to college at night, when he could afford it.
Reetz further said he feels that an important role for a judge is to help people through legal decisions, guidance and rulings that may help them attain a better life, adding he has faith in the ability of individuals to overcome hardship and the consequences of poor choices.
“My broad experiences as a lawyer, parent, construction worker and regular citizen, having dealt with so many of life’s struggles like so many others, all of this provides me with a solid foundation to be a people’s judge," Reetz said in the release. "It is why I decided to run.”
He is married to Laura Reetz and has three children. His daughter graduated from DePaul University in Chicago, his eldest son attends Michigan Technological University in Houghton and his youngest son is an eighth grade student at Sevastopol School.
Also running to replace Ehlers, who announced in August he will not seek reelection after serving as Branch 1 judge for 24 years, is Jennifer Moeller, who has served as Door County Family Court Commissioner for the past 12 years and announced her bid for the bench within days after Ehlers' announcement. Ehlers' successor will be decided in the April 2 election, with the new judge taking office Aug. 1.
Contact Christopher Clough at 920-562-8900 or cclough@doorcountyadvocate.com.
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This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Door County lawyer is second candidate to join race for county judge
