Last Thursday night I had the pleasure of attending a campaign fundraiser for Steve Herskowitz, a 2010 candidate for the 311th Family District Court position that come up for a vote. I’d never met this son of Mickey and Sue Herskowitz until the other evening, but I had heard of him and his accomplishments for years. For me, it was time to make up for lost time getting to know another member of this wonderful Houston family.
In addition to scores of everyday people like me, the campaign party was attended by numerous local legends in sports, including original Houston Colt .45 member Bob Aspromonte and Hall of Fame Astros radio broadcaster Milo Hamilton, former UH Cougar and Houston Rocket Hall of Fame basketball player Elvin Hayes, tv-radio sports personality Craig Roberts, and tennis promoter, businessman extraordinaire Jim “Mattress Mac” McIngvale, plus numerous others. Almost needless to add, Houston’s iconic sportswriter, major biographer, and current journalism professor at Sam Houston State University, Mickey Herskowitz, “The Proud Papa,” was very much at the center of attendance, as was “The Proud Mama” and longtime champion of improvement in our Houston approaches to education, Sue Herskowitz.
There’s a lot of distraction to one of these parties for all the right reasons. Candidates don’t get grilled on whatever the issues may be. And most people who attend are already in the camp of the person they came to support in the first place. I attended as a friend of Mickey and Sue Herskowitx – and for the chance to meet the son I’d only heard about for years. I wasn’t even sure of the office he was seeking until I arrived. I left that night quite impressed with Steve, even if that positive impression already came served on top of some considerable bias in his favor. That being said, I wouldn’t, even couldn’t have been wriitng this article had I not found him both likeable and suitable to the office I now know that he is seeking.
For the better part of a half century, my professional life was totally absorbed by the complicated social and psychological business of working with Houston families in therapy. I still do that kind of work on a selective basis. At my age, I’ve simply gained a better grip on the kinds of situations I think I can help as opposed to those that only God or a fool would take on. And I never work with people simply because they have the ability to pay me out of pocket. The money motive alone isn’t right for the client or me, nor does it serve the interest of achieving whatever the best family resolution outcome that may be possible.
In that light, I came to some strong first impressions about Steve Herskowitz that will get him my vote and serve him well, should he be elected as a Family District Court Judge. These are all issues of major importance to those who pass through any kind of domestic legal resolution through the court on the way to decisions that will alter their lives and the lives of all family members involved forever. As I saw with so many people who pass through the domestic court system, their chances for a lasting peace with a courst decision hinged a lot upon the skill of those court personnel who were best trained in the practice of conflict resolution.
Thursday I learned that Steve Herskowitz has eleevn years experience as a conflict mediator and that he now even teaches courses on conflict resolution. I can’t stress this point enough: That is a big, big plus, folks! In my experience, judges who understand the mediation process tend to make the most fair and realistic adjudications in matters that defy reason.
Steve Herskowitz comes across as a strong family man with good intelligence, passionate concern, and an open heart to the complicated pain of emotional suffering that he may someday soon face on a daily basis as the 311th Family District Court Judge. That is so very important too. We don’t need a judge sitting on that very important bench who only sees the client litigants as faceless names on those thousands of sheets of paper that fly across his or her bench each year. We need a judge who never forgets that the body and soul people whose fates he or she controls are sitting right out there in that courtroom everyday, – full of fear and anger – and in much need of help that can only come from the rendering of the best court decision possible.
One more thing on the asset side: Steve Herskowitz is also infected with his father’s marvelous sense of humor. And that’s good. Very good. Essential. In the direction he is traveling, he will need every last smiling ounce of it.
Bill McCurdy & Mickey Herskowitz
Steve Herskowitz is going to get my support for all the reasons I’ve tried to put forth here, and not simply because he is the son of Mickey and Sue. If I didn’t like his chances of dealing effectively with what I know he is getting into, I wouldn’t be writing this article in his behalf, even if he were my own son. If my own son Neal were unqualified to be family court judge, but still wanted the job, I’d be using all my energies trying to talk him out of it.
Please check out Steve’s site and make your own important decision about rendering your support. It’s very important that we support candidates for all the right reasons. The address for Steve Herskowitz is:
http://steveforjudge.com/about.html
Simply cut and past it to your http:// address line and click on over for a look-see.
The Pecan Park Eagle 
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