EDITORIAL: Trial Court Opening— “We’re Not Accepting Applications”

IN THE BEGINNING of June, Referee Julia Owdziej was appointed by Gov. Snyder to the seat vacated by Judge Nancy Francis. It was a political move and has led to not only hard feelings among the candidates who ran to fill the seat, but also questions from the media about whether Judge Owdziej is running her re-election campaign ethically. Her campaign sign language was criticized by AnnArborChronicle.com: “The sign seems to implicate that Owdziej has been serving as judge for two decades, not two months. Certainly if I were editing an endorsement op-ed that included a sentence like, ‘Judge Julia Owdziej has protected Washtenaw County’s most vulnerable for over 20 years,’ I would move to strike the word ‘judge.’” The same piece took Judge Owdziej to task for violating Ann Arbor’s ordinance on political signs (placement and size).

As the incumbent, Judge Owdziej has obviously been the target of more criticism and scrutiny. However, there are issues more troubling than yard sign size and placement that have come to the forefront. We refer to the fact that Trial Court officials are holding open the Referee seat formerly occupied by Judge Owdziej to see what happens in the elections.

On the heels of allegations published in The Ann magazine in June of arrogant management and poor customer service, holding open the position Judge Owdziej vacated to take up the judgeship to which she was appointed ignores the obvious fact that she gave up the seat to assume her current position. We urge Chief Judge David Swartz to be sensitive to public perception: recent media coverage suggests our county trial court is run like a politico-economic oligarchy—an $18 million judicial Banana Republic.

We believe it would be wrong to return Owdziej to her previous position should voters reject her for the seat to which Gov. Snyder appointed her in June. Voters, after all, will have sent the message that they do not wish to have Owdziej on the bench serving them. Returning her to her position as a Referee ignores both her decision to give up her post in June, as well as the electorate. The position Ms. Owdziej vacated should not be held open for her; it should be posted and filled.