Forum Shares Views of 52-4 District Court Judicial Candidates, to Serve Clawson and Troy (video)
(Crystal A. Proxmire, July 20, 2014)
The League of Women Voters Oakland Area hosted a forum for the three candidates running for Judge of the 52-4 District, serving Clawson and Troy. The seat is available with the current judge not running for another term, and three candidates have thrown their name in the ring: Mike Bosnic, AnnMarie DeVito, and Maureen M. McGinnis.
Mike Bosnic
The position is a nonpartisan one, but a couple of the questions addressed the fact that Bosnic has a long history as a Republican, and has gotten the endorsement of Right to Life Michigan. “I am who I am,” Bosnic said. “There are many elected positions that are nonpartisan, that enable you to serve your community besides judicial positions. I was able to serve over nine years on the Clawson School Board as a nonpartisan position. I was able to serve my community in that capacity. Township boards, city council, those are all nonpartisan. I think at the lower levels… nonpartisan I think is preferable because when people hear the partisan identification, they come with a predisposed notion of who you are or where you come from. There are going to be people who don’t vote for me because I currently sit on the County Board with an ‘R’ next to my name. There are going to be people who vote for me because of that. But being on a nonpartisan ballot I just ask to be judged by my life experience, by my professional experience and by my service to the community.”
When asked why he wanted to run, Bosnic said “I’ve been involved in a number of specialty District Court programs such as drug treatment court in Troy, Veterans Court, Sobriety Court in a couple different District Court jurisdictions. I’ve seen the way a District Court Judge can impact the lives of individuals: helping folks break addictions, keeping families together, keeping communities safe.”
AnnMarie DeVito
DeVito is an Attorney of Counsel at Your Legal Service, PLLC, and contracts her service to other law firms in Oakland County, stating “my basic role is to attend court hearings for them.” She was asked what she thought was the worst thing she’d seen a judge do on the bench. “There’s nothing more embarrassing than walking into a courtroom, whether you’re an attorney or a party, and doing your best and being prepared, thinking you know what’s going to happen and the judge embarrasses you in one way or another,” DeVito said. “It makes me wiggle in my seat when it happens… I would assure that I would never do that.”
She also said that “I think it’s important for the District Court to welcome individuals, and make them feel comfortable.”
Maureen M. McGinnis
McGinnis grew up in Troy and has remained involved in the community while building her law career. She served on the Troy City Council from 2009-2013, including a period of being Mayor Pro Tem. “I think I have a proven track record of service to the community and my service to the legal community. Both of these things have been absolutely high priorities to me since the very beginning of my practice,” she said. She works for a small family law firm and has done family law, criminal defense and probate.
When asked about her accomplishments on City Council, she said “The body of work that was in the four years that I was on council goes to show the importance of being able to work together as a group for the common good and to make a difference.”
The American Bar Association has provided a page with information about this race, including the full video (with better sound) at http://www.ocba.org/One-Stop-Guide-to-Evaluating-Oakland-County-Judici.id.3229.htm.
Other election information is available in the Oakland County 115 News Hub’s Election Information Section at https://oaklandcounty115.com/category/election-information/.
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