51st District Court Judicial Candidate Forum

Choosing a judge to rule on cases and issue judgments should be an informed decision. To help with that decision, the OCBA is partnering with the League of Women Voters-Oakland Area, the Oakland County Legal News, and the Oakland County Times to host Judicial Candidate Forums for all judicial races in Oakland County where there are contested seats.
 

51st district court FORUM

On September 23, 2026, the two candidates for the 51st District Court (Waterford) judicial race will participate in a forum at the Waterford Township Hall Auditorium. The forum will be videotaped and available to watch online. A link to the recording will be found on this page once it is available.
 

HOW IT WORKS
Each forum consists of two panelists – one from the Oakland County Bar Association and one from the Oakland County Legal News – who ask questions of each of the judicial candidates. A representative of the League of Women Voters moderates the forum. Local citizens are invited to attend these events and submit questions for responses by the candidates. The questions will be screened for relevance and duplication.

HOW TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE CANDIDATES
Each candidate is asked to provide answers to a questionnaire. You can read their answers, if provided, by clicking on the link under their name. If the candidate has also elected to be interviewed by the Oakland County Times, you can click on the video link under their name (the links will become live once the information is provided to us). You can also review the "Eight Factors to Consider When Electing a Judge" to aid in making your decision.

This partnership is nonpartisan and the respective organizations will not support or oppose candidates prior to the candidate forum. The Oakland County Legal News and the Oakland County Times may or may not endorse judicial candidates before the election, but not until after the forum has taken place. The partners of the Judicial Candidate Forums strive to provide factual, nonpartisan information to citizens regarding candidates’ qualifications and views.

5200 Civic Center Drive
Waterford, MI 48329