Question 1): The Michigan AFL-CIO has endorsed state Supreme Court Justice Kyra BOLDEN for re-election and also law professor Kimberly Ann THOMAS, who is running for an open seat on the high bench in the Nov. 5 general election. If Big Labor’s influence prevails at this fall’s Democratic state convention, as it usually does, Thomas and Bolden are a cinch to win the two Democratic nominations for the state’s highest court, even though they’ll be running as non-partisans.
Meanwhile, Court of Appeals judge Mark BOONSTRA has announced he is seeking one of two Republican nominations for the same court, days after incumbent Republican-nominated Justice David VIVIANO ruled out running for another term.
Boonstra joins Rep. Andrew FINK (R-Osseo) as candidates for the two Republican nominations up for grabs, but it’s uncertain at this point which one hopes to be the nominee for the VIVIANO seat and which one might wind up facing Thomas for the four-year unexpired portion of a term left open when former Chief Justice Bridget Mary McCormack resigned from the court some 16 months ago. Meanwhile, Democrat Thomas is seeking the open eight-year term while Bolden, appointed to the high bench by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, runs to fill out the remaining four years of her current term. All these nominations come in party conventions, not primaries.
In other words, these are ‘slotted races’ —all these candidates and any other splinter party candidates who may also try for the Supreme Court will NOT be running in a “pack,” whereby the top two finishers get elected. Rather, it will be incumbent Bolden running in one race against one of the two Republican nominees, and Democrat Thomas squaring off against the other Republican plus perhaps a smattering of third party candidates in the other contest. All of these nominees will be running as non-partisans, per the Michigan Constitution, no matter which party nominates them. Of all these candidates, only Bolden will have the advantage of carrying the incumbency designation (the title of her office) on the ballot, which is worth its weight in electoral gold.
Right now, the court is composed of four Democrat-nominated justices, all of them elected, and three Republican-nominated justices, all of them originally appointed by former Gov. Rick Snyder although all three subsequently were elected in their own right. Somewhat paradoxically, the Chief Justice is one of the minority Republicans, Beth Clement, selected by her current judicial peers.
So, how important are this year’s contests for the Michigan Supreme Court? Since the Nov. 5 results will yield at least one new member, and perhaps two, could that affect the court’s decision in a number of high-profile cases in the next few years?
Answer 1): The Michigan Supreme Court has undergone substantial change during the past eight years, almost all of it benefiting the Democratic Party. A court shaped by former Gov. John Engler that once boasted a 5-2 GOP edge has been completely upended to the point where it is now 4-3 advantage Democrats. The Democrats have nominated female candidates with anodyne names (think Cavanagh, Welch) while the Republicans haven’t (remember Brock Swartzle?). The Democrats have also outspent Republicans and have run sharper, more aggressive campaigns.
Already, the partisan knives are out. For example, the AFL-CIO has described appellate judge Boonstra, one of the GOP’s possible nominees, as having “a documented history of extreme opinions,” and claims that he equated the Whitmer administration’s effort during the COVID pandemic as “totalitarianism.”
Boonstra considers himself a “rule-of-law” judge. MIRS newsletter reports that he has the support of former Supreme Court justices Bob Young, Clifford Taylor (defeated for re-election by the Democrats in 2008), Maura Corrigan and Stephen Markman, Young opines that, with Viviano departing, only one of the remaining justices “brought any judicial experience to the court. We need Judge Boonstra on the Supreme Court. He’s a judge for a judge’s job.” Boonstra was appointed to the appellate bench by former Gov. Rick SNYDER in 2012 after working in private practice with the huge Miller Canfield law firm for some three decades. He’s the author of a three-volume book about the 118 signers of the nation’s founding documents. Because Boonstra is turning 67 this year, he could serve only a single 8-year term if elected to the high court because the state constitution says no judge can be elected or re-elected after age 70.
State Rep. Andrew FINK, now in his second term, is giving up his chance for almost certain re-election to the Legislature to seek the other nomination for the Supreme Court. Kyra BOLDEN (D-Pontiac) also served in the state House before running for the high bench in 2022 and narrowly losing before she was appointed to the court by Whitmer to fill the vacancy left by McCormack. Kimberly THOMAS is a clinical professor of law and director and co-founder of the Juvenile Justice Clinic at Michigan Law. As noted above, she is seeking the open seat vacated by Viviano.
In sum, there is one Republican and one Democratic seat up for grabs this year. It’s more certain that Bolden and Thomas will be the Democratic nominees (Bolden as an incumbent can renominate herself) than that Fink and Boonstra will be the Republicans’ choices, regardless of which seats they run for, because of the unpredictability of a Trump-dominated GOP fall state convention. Fink is chalking up endorsements from MAGA delegates and officeholders — that may help him win one of his party’s nominations, but the Democrats are likely to use it against him in the fall campaign.
The Republicans must win the open seat and knock off Bolden to get their lost 4-3 majority back. The Democrats need only to re-elect Bolden to retain their current 4-3 advantage. A victory by Thomas would be gravy, giving them their strongest majority in nearly six decades. If the two parties split the two seats, the status quo 4-3 Democratic edge remains for at least the next two years. Unless the Republicans can get their act together, including raising a lot of campaign dough that has been missing for three election cycles, they appear doomed to be disappointed again. We’re probably looking at a 5-2 or 4-3 Democratic Supreme Court beginning in January, 2025. And, yes, that can make a big difference in policy outcomes, no matter how much the Supremes talk about being non-partisan.
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Question 2): Former President Donald Trump visited Grand Rapids last week to decry the murder of Ruby Garcia by her boyfriend, an illegal immigrant who had been deported under Trump’s administration but who found his way back to this country during Joe Biden’s presidency. U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow and others have blasted Trump and other Republicans for trying to exploit what Stabenow claimed was a domestic violence tragedy that could just as easily have involved two U.S. citizens, and, when it happens, usually does. Nevertheless, the murders of Garcia and of Laken Riley in Georgia a couple of weeks earlier has vaulted the immigration issue to renewed prominence. Has illegal immigration surpassed the economy as the # 1 issue with all voters, or just Republicans?
Answer 2): Yes, immigration appears to have become 2024’s #1 campaign issue not only for Republicans but most independents and even about a third of all Democrats — at least for now. The general public has been slow to recognize that the economy has greatly improved since last year, but eventually voters will ‘get it’ that things aren’t as bad as they have been portrayed. But things have NOT improved at the border and most likely will not in the next seven months, thus vaulting immigration to the top of the list of voters’ concerns. The sieve on the Rio Grande combined with crime being committed by illegal immigrants, especially in sanctuary cities across the country, is driving voters nationwide to take notice. Democrats who ignore this reality are driving voters right into Donald Trump’s arms. Polls showing vast improvement by Trump and the GOP with African Americans, Hispanics and blue-collar voters is attributable largely to the immigration issue.
Oh, and what about “saving democracy?” That’s what many Democrats list as their #1 issue, but it’s not really an issue. It’s a dog whistle euphemism for “We can’t allow Donald Trump back in office to establish an autocracy.”
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I have been familiar with Mark Boonstra for years. He is from Dexter in Washtenaw County.
He used to serve as the chairman of the Washtenaw County Republican Party but had to give that up because of his appointment to the Michigan Court of Appeals.
He is absolutely a right-winger and that is why he was chosen for the Michigan Court of Appeals by Governor Rick Snyder.
Andrew Fink comes from a prominent conservative family and has likewise espoused a rightist political ideology while serving in the Michigan House.
Kim Thomas will the candidate to beat due to the lack of incubency designation on the ballot.
Judge Boonstra has the resume and background to be MI Supreme Court Judge (thank you Scott Greenlee for the recommendation.) Interesting -that Mcquade has a Book signing this Tuesday in Ann Arbor. If the Dems persuade her to run , this could be a “pick-up” seat for another Dem on the High Court.
Thanks Bill, timely . . .
wrt Q#1: I wish all voters in MI would read TBR. You gave us more information in 12 paragraphs than we usually get in 12 election cycles wrt the “non-partisan” candidates. Now my family will be watching for them.
wrt Q#2: Bill, I think whatever poll you’ve been scrutinizing has powdered your eyes with star-dust. Here in MI, the main election issues will be abortion and student loan forgiveness just like the last two elections. Even if there are no referendums on the ballot. And Caesar will keep the polls open extra long hours in Ann Arbor, as usual, just to cement the point.
> And Caesar will keep the polls open extra long hours in Ann Arbor,
> as usual, just to cement the point.
Washtenaw County Clerk here.
Only voters who were in line by 8:00 pm, and remain in line until they vote, are entitled to vote after hours. That’s just as true in Ann Arbor as it is anywhere else in Michigan.
With nine days of early voting now being the law, I’m hopeful that, this fall, we won’t have people still voting, hours after the official close of polls.
Larry:
Frankly, GOP leaders have praised your tenure in cleaning up Washtenaw County Clerks since you defeated Peggy Haines years ago. There have been issues with the Ann Arbor City Clerk’s office permitting voting past closure times.
There has been also the issue of college students who registered to vote in Ann Arbor back in the 1970s who have not voted since then that have never been purged from voter registration rolls. These “ghost voter registrants” explain why there are more registered voters in Ann Arbor than residents. This situation impacts the number of signatures required to place a referendum on the ballot. You indicated that the cost of purging these clearly ineligible persons from voter registration rolls was too prohibitive.
Finally, we have had the ongoing issues of University of Michigan students from out-of-state who enroll at U-M and proceed to register to vote despite no intent to stay in Michigan permanently after graduation. In 2008, we had 10,000 new registrants with the Ann Arbor City Clerk just before the filing deadline.
Further, Ann Arbor is one of the few municipalities in Michigan that has party primaries for mayor and city council in August. The effect of this summer election is to disenfranchising registered student voters who are on their summer break.and make the November general city elections a practical nullity.
Great report Bill Ballenger. There’s so many challenges facing our beautiful State. I often feel that some great GOP candidates for many elected positions are deterred from running. Case in point, Trump talking about securing our borders by highlighting a horrible crime as an example but it’s justified by the Democrats. Illegal immigration’s a huge problem.
I totally agree with Royal reproductive rights and women’s healthcare – abortion will again be the motivating factor for many young voters, and in particular women. It’s over for the no exceptions -Tudor Dixon type of candidate with a little over six months to go. There’s absolutely no question that the Republicans need to be enlightened and focus on women’s rights.
Always strive for intellectual honesty
John Stewart, is, as usual, right. But Republicans of the John Stewart variety, the ones that used to win elections, are mainly in glass display cases in museums, and that’s not good for democracy.
Justices of the Michigan Supreme Court are nominated in party conventions, and then pretend to be nonoartisan in the general election. Practically everyone agrees this is a terrible system, but no one since Lt. Gov. Jim Brickley in 1982 has lifted a finger to do anything about it.
(Full disclosure: I went door to door circulating Brickley’s initiative petition, which ultimately didn’t get enough signatures to make the ballot.)
At one point, our state supreme court was regarded as the worst and most partisan state high court in the nation.
Fortunately, Rick Snyder’s appointees to the court were more judicial and less partisan, but the court notably came within one vote of preventing the “Voters Not Politicians” redistrictibg reform from reaching the ballot.
Donald Trump (disdaining “voting by mail”) and the pandemic gave control of the court to Democrats in 2020. Partisans who go to the polls in person, as most Republicans did in 2020, have to remember which Supreme Court candidates to vote for. Partisans who vote by absentee ballot, as most Democrats did in 2020, have a take-home exam, and can look up the answers on the Internet.
Larry
If you want to complain about a poor court system, look no farther than Washtenaw County.
District Judge J. Cedric Simpson was suspended by the Michigan Supreme Court for nine months after a complaint by the Michigan Judicial Tenure Commission. Several other judges in the county had been under JTC investigation with one – Chris Easthope resigning rather than face disciplinary action. Another district judge was convicted of operating while impaired due to alcohol.
I could specify other instances, however there have been a lot of problems in recent years among judges serving in Washtenaw County.
I’ve never been in favor of electing judges at all. There is no question that voters, even in Washtenaw County, sometimes put questionable candidates into judicial seats.
We elect our judges in Michigan because of Andrew Jackson. This state was founded by Jacksonians who believed that all public officials should be elected — even judges. And surveys show that voters are loath to give up this power, even as they admit they don’t know anything about the candidates.
All that said, if we’re stuck with elected judges, Michigan’s system below the Supeme Court level has little to complain about. The elections are nonpartisan, incumbents (even appointed incumbents) are designated on the ballot and rarely lose. And our Judicial Tenure Commission is reasonably active at finding and punishing bad actors.
Moreover, the gubernatorial appointment process, under every Michigan governor in my lifetime, is far more careful and considered than any political campaign for an obscure position could be.
Nice article, Bill, with a good analysis on the probable candidates for the state Supreme Court. The CVs of the nominees always makes interesting reading, especially when one of them gets endorsed by a major newspaper. An interesting case to watch should be if the Michigan Supremes make the Rafaeli case retroactive making the governmental agencies that sold property over tax issues being required to refund to the property owner the money obtained in the sale in excess of the tax bill. It would hit many governments hard (and it should) and might be something the Court would have Bolden take the lead on. Not that I am cynical, mind you.
QUESTION 1: As always, these races come down to money. The GOP donor class has been rather quiescent over the past two state supreme court election cycles whereas the Democrats have not. In 2020, there were plenty of McCormick and Welch signs, usually with other Democratic candidates on them. Same in 2022, though in the end they sent over some money so Zahra could get ads on and probably saved his seat. Hoekstra replaced Karamo in large part of her inability to raise money. Now he will have to get to work. Unless the donor class simply does not care about Supreme Court races anymore.
QUESTION 2: A few points here.
Much of the MSM comments on the cases involving Ruby Garcia and Laken Riley really need to be dismissed. They can talk all they want about various statistical models – generally selectively comprised by those in favor of more immigration as figures from so-called “sanctuary” jurisdictions should be suspect – but the fact remains that these two young ladies were murdered by people who had no legal right to be here. Period. Senator Stabenow and the others you referenced in question 2 can make all the excuses they want to curry favor with their political base, but the fact remains these two young women were murdered by illegal aliens. Their caterwauling is not becoming the offices they hold. The point you make in the bottom of the first paragraph in Question 1 is spot on.
The economy is good, if you’re at the top of the economic pyramid. Or running a company overflowing with government stimulus money. Or private equity. Or the folks running Disney (into the ground). They are paid like royalty, benefit from the tax code, and simply cannot understand why everyday folks are concerned about immigration. We, especially they, need to read more Ruy Texiera and his Substack, The Liberal Patriot, to get a better feel about how those at the bottom of the pyramid – and whose work supports it – are doing. Inflation is a pernicious and regressive tax that affects the least wealthy.
And “saving democracy”. You’re right about that being a dog whistle. And we are not a democracy. We are a constitutional republic. Granted, we use tools of democracy, but our Constitution deliberately makes it hard for the majority to run roughshod over minorities. Those who want to “save our democracy” want to ignore that and steamroll their opponents and implement some sort of 21st century Jim Crow relegating their opponents to second class status.
Answer 1) “In sum, there is one Republican and one Democratic seat up for grabs this year.” Which is exactly the problem. The Judicial branch of government was constituted to be Non-Partisan; Michigan is one of the states where that premise is winked at. Shortly after she retired, I had a 2+ hour conversation with Betty Weaver. One subject we touched on was Judicial Impartiality. She informed me that (Name Redacted) was told how to vote by the party who had originally nominated them at the convention; they complied to the letter. She added that (Name Redacted) usually followed suit when told how to vote by their political party. When the judiciary devolves to this extent, we may as well resurrect S. Jerome Bronson; at least he was open to the highest bidder.
This election cycle we have the opportunity to eliminate that type of partisan influence, and also elect an experienced Court of Appeals Judge. Due to the ‘over 70 rule’, if elected, Hon. Mark Boonstra can’t seek re-election as he will be 75 at the end of his one term. So if he ever gets a call from the GOP with ‘hints’ suggesting how he should vote, the line will conveniently disconnect. Hopefully this happens before Justice Boonstra erupts with laughter.
Now if both parties had the integrity to nominate candidates for the MSC who are just a bit under 70 and ineligible for re-election, the chances of improper influence dramatically decreases. Perhaps the legislature should promote, on a bi-partisan basis, a constitutional amendment that would require prospective MSC Judges to be of such an age where they would be over 70 at the end of their single term. (Perhaps I should run out and buy a Powerball Ticket, after I get the winning numbers from a Tarot Card reader.)
Answer 2) Yes, in spades. The alien invasion will continue unabated until DEMentia Joe’s replacement begins again to sleep in the White House on January 20, 2025. This is an issue that transcends all Races and Religions. Regardless of your stature, you are at risk to be the victim of violent crime perpetrated by one or more of these miscreants, especially if you live in a border city. Which becomes even more likely if you live in a sanctuary city which always has a democrat majority. Chicago is finally expelling illegals from shelters but not yet putting them in jail to await ICE. New York City is rapidly becoming reminiscent of the Wild Wild West.
So the very troughs where democrats depend on votes have been poisoned due to democrat policies. No victim of violent crime or their families are likely to reward those who caused their calamity. Nor is any voter likely to vote for a party who caused them to lose their job to a laborer who works for less (often under the table, thereby not paying taxes for disproportionate services consumed).
“[S]aving democracy?” What democracy? Our government was constituted as a Republic. Now all we have to do is keep it.
83% of arrest warrants for the crime of murder issued by courts in Maricopa County, Arizona name illegal aliens as defendants.
It is indisputable that illegal immigration drives up crime rates. Some enter America just to commit crime.
63% of white voters chose Trump in 2020 in Arizona – not because they were enamored with MAGA politics – but because they feared that Sleepy Joes presidency would lead to rampant influx of illegal aliens – and this has happened.
@ Jack Lessenberry- you did it again on Monday morning (Eclipse Day) made a Dutch, Scot Presbyterian lawyer LOL. ( Moderate Republicans are in glass display cases in Museums) You mean to say a woman has the right to determine what happens with her body ?