2 candidates advance to general election for new Kalamazoo County judge seat

KALAMAZOO COUNTY, MI — And then there were two, in the race for a new judge position in Kalamazoo County.

Christine Morse and Mariko Willis were the top two vote-getters in the Tuesday, Aug. 6 primary contest for a new judgeship in Kalamazoo County’s 9th Circuit Court. They will face off against each other on the Nov. 5 general election ballot. The winner in November will serve an eight-year term on the bench.

With all unofficial results now in, Morse received 19,148 votes with 53% of the vote, followed by Willis with 9,892 votes (27.5%).

The third candidate, Angelique Camfield, received 6,766 votes (19%). Because only the top two advance, her name will not appear on the November ballot.

Per Michigan law, if there are more than twice the number of candidates than there are judgeships up for election, the race appears on all primary election ballots as a nonpartisan race. The two candidates with the greatest number of votes advance to the general election.

Had there been just two candidates, the race would not have been voted on until the general election.

The new judgeship in Kalamazoo County was created as a result of Public Act 277 of 2022, in response to state data that showed the county’s docket volume warranted one or two additional circuit court judgeships.

Morse, 51, is the current state House representative for Michigan’s 40th District. She earned her juris doctorate from Wayne State University Law School in 1998 and earned a bachelor’s in political science/pre-law from Michigan State University in 1995.

A licensed attorney since 1999, Morse interned for the St. Clair County and Berrien County prosecutor’s offices in district and probate courts, as well as for the Honorable Gerald R. Rosen of the Eastern District of Michigan. She practiced insurance defense litigation in Michigan and California and practiced in worker’s compensation administrative law in California. Her campaign website is vote4morse.com.

Willis, 40, is the owner of and an attorney at Fidelis Counselor at Law. She also gives legal counsel at Willis Law and is chief operating officer of the Willis Foundation. She has a juris doctorate from Thomas M. Cooley Law School, where she graduated cum laude.

According to her bio, Willis has been named a rising star in “Super Lawyers” for five consecutive years — an honor that is reserved for less than 2.5% of attorneys in the state. She is a Marine Corps Veteran, where she rose to the rank of staff sergeant. Her last billet was a company gunnery sergeant and deputy family readiness officer. Her campaign website is WillisForJudge.com.

No longer on the ballot, Camfield is a managing attorney at a family and criminal law practice. She graduated cum laude from the Eastern Michigan University honors college in 1993, as well as while obtaining her juris doctorate from the Michigan State University College of Law in 1996.

Camfield has more than 27 years experience in the courtroom. She spent 15 years working for prosecutor’s offices in Kalamazoo, Allegan and Calhoun counties. She also spent 12 years in defense law and represented clients in employment discrimination, plaintiff’s personal injury and insurance defense. She currently sits on the board for Legal Aid of Western Michigan.

MLive’s coverage on this year’s races and election issues around the state can be found at this link.