Ortley wins District Court judge spot

Flathead County Justice of the Peace David Ortley will become the fourth judge in Montana's 11th District Court.

Ortley, 54, garnered 15,918 votes to beat Kalispell Municipal Judge Heidi Ulbricht, who got 12,858 votes.

Ortley will fill one of three judicial positions created by the Montana Legislature in 2009.

"I think it was a tough choice for most voters simply because Heidi and I have both been judges and they know each of us," Ortley said Tuesday night. "I think the difference was in experience, and I think the depth and breadth of my experience made the difference."

Ortley will join Katherine Curtis, Ted O. Lympus and Stewart Stadler in Flathead County's highest court, which has jurisdiction over criminal and civil cases.

Ortley began his career in law enforcement in 1979, attending basic police school in Glynco, Ga. He received a bachelor's degree in law enforcement from Minnesota State University-Mankato in 1980 and three years later earned a law degree at Hamline University School of Law.

Ortley touted his 11 years as a justice of the peace in pursuing the step up to District Court. He had been a nominee for a position on the court in 1999, but was beat out by Stadler. He later was appointed to finish Stadler's term in Justice Court.

He said he thinks being elected to the position is more meaningful than being appointed.

"I think it does mean more because to me it represents an endorsement of the majority of voters in the county," Ortley said. "But you represent the entirety of the county, not just those who elected you."

Ulbricht, 47, will continue as Kalispell Municipal Court Judge, where she has served for 16 years. Ulbricht had touted innovations in her courtroom, including the implementation of DUI and Drug Court, along with her experience as a trial judge in the lead-up to the general election.

Ortley will serve a six-year term.

He said he's already spoken with his replacement on Justice Court and is planning to hand over his current cases. Kalispell attorney Dan Wilson won the seat vacated by Ortley in Department 1 of Flathead County Justice Court.

Wilson, 46, beat public defender Glen Neier with 64 percent of the vote.

An attorney for the past 17 years, Wilson is currently a partner at the firm Measure, Robbin and Wilson, P.C. He has said he's happy with the way Justice Court is functioning, and wouldn't necessarily call for any major changes.

The Billings native earned a law degree from the University of Minnesota in 1993 and later worked as a county attorney in Chinook and Great Falls. He later moved to Flathead County and served as a deputy county attorney until opening his own practice in 1998.

Wilson will join Mark Sullivan, who won re-election over challenger Travis Bruyer, a deputy with the Flathead County Sheriff's Office, in Department 2 of Justice Court.

Sullivan won with 61 percent of the vote compared to 39 percent for Bruyer.

Sullivan, 60, was campaigning for his second term as Justice of the Peace. He was elected in 2006 on, among other things, a promise to create a night court to help ease the daily caseload.

Sullivan, who was an attorney in private practice before being elected, is a Whitefish native who has lived most of his life in the Flathead Valley.

He said during his campaign that it was important that someone with a background in courtrooms be judges. Bruyer disagreed with that assertion, claiming that his years as a law enforcement officer - a Flathead County deputy since 2003 - made him a good fit for the position.