White lands win in circuit judge race

By Jenna Wilson

After a tight race against his opponent, voters selected Terry White to serve as the Division 3 circuit judge of the 5th Judicial Circuit.

White received 5,896 votes to secure his win. He will fill the seat currently held by Patrick Robb, who is retiring after serving since 1988. White faced off against Monica Morrey, who received 4,915 votes.

White has 40 years of experience in the criminal justice system, which includes time serving as an assistant prosecutor in Nodaway County and an investigator for the Buchanan County Drug Strike Force since 2010.

White has a Juris Doctor degree and currently serves as a municipal judge in Tarkio, Missouri, leading him to feel ready to take on the role of circuit judge.

“I’ve worked at the international level in Kosovo and Iraq, as well as the federal, state, county and municipal levels of government, both public and private,” White said. “Throughout my years of being in law enforcement and serving at all three levels of the judicial system, I’ve got a pretty good insight and a unique insight on how the system works. I’ve seen things over the years that have been tried and failed and tried and succeeded.”

One of White’s primary goals as circuit judge is taking repeat offenders off the streets.

In addition, he has every intention of continuing to serve Northwest Missouri by increasing community safety, and he said this is the last way he would like to do so.

“My wife and I have a long-term vested interest in our community and have no intention of moving from our home,” he said. “The Division 3 circuit judge position is not a stepping stone for me. This will be my final assignment.”