Court of Appeals candidate Kelly stops in Alpena

Michigan Court of Appeals candidate Michael Kelly made a stop in Alpena on Monday to discuss the race.

Kelly is running against Ingham County Circuit Court Judge Paula Manderfield for a seat in District 4 of the appeals court. The two are running to replace Bill Schuette, who is not seeking reelection.

District 4 includes 58 of the 83 counties in Michigan, including the entire Upper Peninsula, northern Lower Michigan, and parts of the southern half of the state.

Kelly said bringing visibility to the court of appeals race has been difficult, since many people focus on local circuit or district court elections. He said Supreme Court elections are more visible because there is more funding available to candidates.

"This race seems to slip through the cracks," he said.

A Leelanau resident, Kelly said he is qualified for the job because he has practiced in both trial and appellate courts and has 20 years of experience in courtrooms.

"I think the appeals court could use more judges who have actually been in the court room," he said.

Although he has no experience as a judge, he said about half the appeals court judges were not judges before they were elected to their position. Like him, they had experience in the appeals court as lawyers.

He said one problem prevalent in the Michigan Supreme Court, and exists to a lesser degree in appeals court, is politically charged opinions.

"We shouldn't be reading an opinion and saying 'that judge is a Republican' or 'that judge is a Democrat,'" Kelly said.

He said he considers himself to be a moderate, and has supporters from both sides of the aisle.

He also said he isn't running for the position to advance his career. He would like to end his career as an appeals court judge, he said.

The campaign has been more about educating people on the role of the appeals court, which serves as the intermediary between trial court and the Supreme Court, than it has been about any particular issue.

"I find it's really a tour of me giving a civics lesson," Kelly said. "It's been sort of interesting and fun to explain those things."

He had been in Sault Ste. Marie before his Alpena visit, and was heading to Traverse City for a fund-raiser.

Voters should note judge races are non-partisan, so straight ticket voters will still have to vote for any judge races on the ballot, he said.

"If you vote straight ticket you're not voting for the judges," Kelly said.

Sean Harkins can be reached via e-mail at sharkins@thealpenanews.com or by phone at 358-5688.