Judicial candidate fora co-sponsored by OCBA

 Oakland County voters will soon have the opportunity to hear directly from judicial candidates in the forthcoming contested primaries for Oakland County judgeships.

A series of judicial forums throughout the community will provide voters with the chance to hear the candidates speak about pertinent issues before ballots are cast.

These forums are the result of a partnership – now in its fifth judicial cycle – among the Oakland County Bar Association (OCBA), the League of Women Voters Oakland Area, and the Detroit Free Press that aims to sponsor judicial candidate forums in all contested judicial races in Oakland County.

The purpose of this partnership is to disseminate information about judicial candidates as widely as possible in their communities and to encourage the active participation of Oakland County citizens in voting in judicial elections. Obtaining information directly from the candidates assists our citizens in becoming more knowledgeable and informed voters.  

The forums are open to the public and are recorded so that they may be aired on cable channels in the communities where the races take place. As soon as the recordings are available, they will be uploaded on the OCBA’s YouTube page at http://bit.ly/OCBAYouTube

This partnership is nonpartisan and the respective organizations will not support or oppose candidates prior to the candidate forum.  The Detroit Free Press may or may not endorse judicial candidates preceding the election.  The partners in the Judicial Candidate Forum project strive to provide factual, nonpartisan information to citizens regarding candidates’ qualifications and views.

Each forum consists of two panelists who ask questions of each of the candidates. One panelist is a member of the Oakland County Bar Association and one panelist is from the Detroit Free Press. A representative of the League of Women Voters moderates each forum. The community is invited to attend and submit questions for responses by the candidates at each forum. 

Additionally, all candidates have been asked to complete a Judicial Candidate Questionnaire. The completed questionnaires are available on the OCBA website at http://bit.ly/2014CandidateFora. The questionnaires are posted on our website exactly as the candidates submitted them. 

A forum was conducted yesterday, June 23, for the 52/1 District Court, Novi – Challenge.  Candidates Judge Brian W. MacKenzie (incumbent), Scott W. Powers, and Travis M. Reeds took part in the forum at Wixom City Hall.

The next forum will be for 52-4 District Court, Troy – Challenge taking place on Monday, July 14, from 7 to 8 p.m. at Clawson City Hall, 425 N. Main St. in Clawson.  The candidates are Michael Bosnic, AnnMarie DeVito, and Maureen M. McGinnis.

The primary election will be held on August 5.

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