Elect Bill Osterndorf Probate Judge

On Tuesday, August 10th primary will be held to determine which candidate will receive the Republican endorsement for the newly combined position of New Canaan/Darien probate judge. We have all heard about each of the candidate's personal backgrounds, community involvement, their integrity and other qualities that would make them the best person for the job. I happen to know Bill Osterndorf and believe he is by far the most qualified person for the job.  On the other hand, I do not know the other 2 candidates and I am sure there are many people out there in the same position as me and the majority may not know any of them.  Determining a person's character or integrity can be very subjective.  Their ability to "bridge the communities" sounds great but I didn't know they needed bridging and if a probate judge is making a decision on a case concerning me only, does it really matter if he brings the two towns together? So how does someone decide?  I believe "job experience" or caseloads would be the key factor.  It is the one thing that doesn't involve someone else's opinion and is a fact hopefully supported by fairly accurate record keeping. Since we are all busy and researching can be time consuming, we will have to rely on someone who does it for a living.  Therefore I will refer you to an article from The Darien Times dated July 31, 2010 that compares the candidates' caseloads.  The Darien Times called several probate courts to find out how many active and closed cases attorneys William Osterndorf, John Ryan and Michael Murray had in the system.  According to the article, total cases in Darien/New Canaan (what pertains to this election) for Osterndorf were 54, Ryan had 17 and Murray had 1.  The article indicated that for the most part the candidates believed "the totals seemed about right".  The facts speak and support my belief that Bill Osterndorf is the best candidate, now you decide.Adele Persico