By John Fredericks / Staff

“She’s the one,” says North Fulton's top lawman Todd Ashley. “I think highly of Chloe and I think she’d make an excellent Superior Court judge.”

Chloe Dallaire is running for Fulton County Superior Court judge in November. If elected, she would eventually serve in the family court division. Her first try at elective office, Dallaire is running to replace Judge Melvin K. Westmoreland, who is retiring at the end of the year.

The filing deadline is not until June 30 and yet there are already four candidates in the race to replace Westmoreland: Dallaire, Shelitha Robertson, Karlise Grier and Clarence R. Johnson, Jr.

State of Georgia Superior Court Judges are elected in nonpartisan races at the county level.

BEEN THERE, DONE THAT

Fresh off a divorce settlement of her own in Fulton County court, which included a child custody ruling, Dallaire knows first-hand what power judges have -- from her recent experience on the other side of the table. As a result, one of her core campaign promises is to rule fairly and impartially.

Dallaire pledges to be a non-activist judge. “I have a passion for the law,” she explains, “but I don’t want to make laws.” She says wants to “preserve the integrity of the law first.”

The litigator, an Emory Law School graduate, claims more than 13 years of courtroom experience. Her expertise is primarily of the civil trial variety, dealing with catastrophic injury, medical malpractice, nursing home litigation, product liability and automobile dealership liability.

Dallaire is a seven-year partner at Weinberg, Wheeler, Hudgins, Gunn & Dial, LLC, a high-stakes Atlanta litigation firm that primarily represents corporate clients. She’s been with firm for over 12 years.

FAMILY FIRST

Potentially problematic for Dallaire’s electoral hopes may be her long history of corporate representation, especially large auto retailers and the medical industry -- including hospitals, doctors and nurses -- against malpractice suits. Neither entity is particularly popular with voters right now. No doubt her opponents will attempt to paint her as a tool of big corporate interests.

But Dallaire grew up in a rough and tumble part of Chicago, and she’s no stranger to a good fight. The single mom says she knows about standing up for what’s important in life. “To be a single mom, and a good mom, with a big job -- its not easy these days,” Dallaire explains. “You have to be highly organized, very efficient.” She says her friends call her super mom. But that’s not accurate, she counters: “To my daughter, I’m just mommy.”

To Fulton county court-goers, she may also come to be called “judge” next year.