Three PI County elected officials testify in Lansing
A member of the Presque Isle County Board of Commissioners testified before the Senate Judiciary committee in Lansing last week regarding court reorganization. Commissioner Don Field of the Presque Isle area, who serves as chairman of the Local Court Management Council, appeared before the committee February 25, along with Circuit Judge Joseph Swallow, Probate Court Judge Ken Radzibon, and other representatives from counties that make up the 26th Circuit Court. Their message: they don?t want to see the court boundaries changed.
It was a long day for those who traveled to Lansing. The group left at 7 a.m. and didn?t return until 9 p.m., but after hearing some of the responses from committee members, it all seemed to be worthwhile.
?We felt very positive coming back,? said Field. ?We were pleased with the response they gave us after listening to us.?
?We went in there with an idea that they were just being nice to us and giving us an opportunity to vent,? Field told his fellow county commissioners last Friday. ?We left with the firm belief that they are going to report this bill out to the Senate.?
THE FIGHT to stop the realignment plan began about one year ago when the state legislature approved a bill on a 55-52 vote. The legislation went on a fast track, taking only 10 days to receive approval. The plan, which is to be implemented April 1, puts Alcona, Iosco, Oscoda and Arenac Counties in the 23rd Circuit, and Presque Isle County with Cheboygan County in the 53rd Circuit.
Alpena and Montmorency Counties would be all that?s left of the 26th Circuit. Field said an hour was given to the northeast Michigan contingent.
?It turned out to be an hour and 40 minutes,? said Field. It started with Judge Swallow citing some of the problems he perceives. He talked to State Sen. Alan Cropsey, who is an attorney and chairman of the judiciary committee, about the constitutional problems that are going to be created, Field said.
Len Zolnierek, from Alpena County, spoke about some of the problems his county is having, going from four counties to two in the new 26th Circuit, but a third of the way through his presentation, Sen. Bruce Patterson of Canton Township stopped him.
PATTERSON ASKED the committee?s counsel ?where all the information was when they were asked to vote on this bill last year.? Patterson asked if there were any notice given that the bill could pass and Field told the committee, ?Of course, we told Sen. Patterson that we had no notice at all.? Patterson talked to Field after the hearing and said he would discuss the matter with State Rep. Jim Howell, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, ?and ask why this happened, and why we weren?t allowed to be a part of this,? Field said. The original bill to come out of the House was only supposed to affect two co
?IT WAS REVISED in the Senate to include all the boundary changes,? said Field. ?And then the act then talked in terms of changes related to the family court boundaries act, which was a complete misnomer because the family court was already within the boundaries.?
Sen. Tony Stamas has introduced a bill to put the brakes on the realignment, but the committee wasn?t going to report the bill out if there was an indication it would be dead on arrival in the Senate.
?What?s the point?? said Field.
In the meantime, representatives in all the counties involved are preparing for the changes to be implemented in less than four weeks. Information regarding the bill was to come out sometime this week.