Incumbent Probate Judge Refuses to Debate Opponent

Please note: This article has been changed to accurately identify the 22nd Circuit Court.

THE RACE FOR the county’s 22nd District Circuit Court’s probate judgeship is heated. In the primary, Incumbent Judge Julia B. Owdziej topped runner up Tracy Van den Bergh by slightly more than 1,000 votes, total. On Oct. 13, Judge Owdziej in an email refused an invitation from The Ann Arbor Independent to debate her opponent Tracy Van den Bergh in a public forum.

Judge Owdziej has participated in candidate forums which do not require or allow candidates to address each other directly or to rebut their opponent’s answers to questions. At the recent League of Women Voters candidate forum, Owdziej repeatedly spoke about the importance of voter education, particularly as it relates to the issues surrounding her own race. Van den Bergh agreed to the debate. Circuit Court candidates Veronique Liem and Patrick Conlin have also agree to participate in a formal public debate which is scheduled for Oct. 29.

Incumbent Judge Julia B. Owdziej, appointed to the seat by Gov. Rick Snyder in June 2014, has been harshly criticized for planting immense campaign signs in Ann Arbor and elsewhere that allegedly do not conform to ordinance.

In July 2014, The Ann magazine published a letter from local attorney Laurie Longo in which Ms. Longo brought up the illegality of Owdziej’s campaign signs: “As you know, one of the judicial candidates is Judge Julia Owdziej, very recently appointed by Governor Snyder to fill the probate seat pending resolution of the elections. Since her appointment, Judge Owdziej’s campaign has placed a set of three signs on Main Street…which are almost four times the size permitted by the Ann Arbor signage ordinance and are also closer to the sidewalk than permitted.”

Longo went on to question what “kind of judicial rulings” voters could expect from an incumbent judge (albeit one who had been in office just over five weeks when the letter was written) “who doesn’t play by the rules.”

Longo’s letter pointed out that, “Ms. Owdziej feels she can and/or must also break the law to have an even larger edge by ignoring local law.”

Judge Owdziej ultimately removed the Ann Arbor signs, while one in a nearby township remains. Critics complain that Owdziej, in running for a judgeship, is flouting the law. Candidates for judicial office are required to avoid even the perception of impropriety.

There have also been complaints that Owdziej’s campaign signs mislead the public to believe she has served as a Probate Judge for “over two decades.”

The now defunct online site AnnArborChronicle.com weighed in on the issue of  Owdziej’s signs, as well. Former site Editor David Askins writes in a July 28, 2014 column: “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.’”

Then there is the issue of the court referee position she ostensibly vacated. The Chief Judge of the 22nd District Circuit Court has not appointed a referee to replace Owdziej. It has been suggested that the position is being held for her in the eventuality that she loses. Dan Dwyer is the Court Administrator. When asked about the open referee position, leaving just one referee to handle what has been described as a heavy juvenile case docket, Dwyer said that the position is filled at the pleasure of the Chief Judge, David Swartz. Judge Swartz has endorsed Owdziej.

Dwyer denied the referee position is being held for Owdziej as a fallback should she be defeated in November.

The latest controversy surrounding Owdziej’s efforts to gain election to the seat to which she was appointed surrounds her recent appearance at the county Bar Association’s candidate forum. At that event, Judge Owdziej was asked if she belongs to any organization which takes a stance on abortion. Owdziej responded that she does not belong to any such organization.

This answer drew sharp criticism. Owdziej has a child who attends Gabriel Richard Catholic School. In 2014, her husband, John Owdziej, was recognized as a member of the St. Thomas Catholic Church Faithful to our Heritage Steering Committee. According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church found on the website of the Vatican: “Since the first century the Church has affirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion. This teaching has not changed and remains unchangeable.”