HVALF 2022 Endorsement Questionnaire for Judicial Candidates  
This is the Huron Valley Area Labor Federation's (HVALF) questionnaire for candidates for judicial offices to be elected in 2022.  

The HVALF is the regional level of the American Federation of Labor - Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), the federation of unions that represents about 11.5 of the 14.5 million union members in the United States, and about 3 million non-union members of Working America.    

The  HVALF, which represents over 40 local unions based in four counties (Washtenaw, Livingston, Jackson and Hillsdale), brings together local union leaders to build a labor movement that improves the lives of all working families. To this end, we support the fight for worker rights and living wages in the workplace, and work to change the balance of political power to achieve racial and social justice in our region and our state.      

Supporting judicial candidates whose understanding of the of the law and the role of the judiciary is consistent with these objectives is a vital part of our strategy for realizing those goals. With candidates for local offices, the HVALF decides on the endorsements for our region.  In the case of candidates for state-wide offices such as the MI Court of Appeals and Supreme Court, the HVALF makes recommendations to the Michigan AFL-CIO, and they make the endorsement decisions.

Please note that we reserve the right to share the information you provide us in this survey with our delegates, our affiliates' members, and the public.

It is recommended that you fill out your long answers in a word document, and then copy/paste them into the form to avoid technical difficulties with editing your responses.

Are you filling out the correct form?
Countywide Officers - https://forms.gle/u7YEn6FfYcWRnV6x9
School Board - https://forms.gle/PiKDvC1oN5nuc28F8
Ann Arbor - https://forms.gle/FSPLKwY1n9K6bDgj7
State Rep/Senate -https://forms.gle/iC91kyhHzvWpL5yUA
Judicial - https://forms.gle/4EMohnwCjimf1gW69
County Commission - https://forms.gle/xJuheHQDkuaZihhKA
Municipal (not Ann Arbor) - https://forms.gle/Etr4Sxs29hufmeLHA

If you have any questions please contact HVALF Field Coordinator Trent Varva at tvarva@miaflcio.org

!!!!!!!!!!DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION WILL BE APRIL 22.!!!!!!!!!!

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Campaign Details Section
Below please fill out relevant information about yourself and your campaign.
Your full name (as it will appear on the ballot) *
Your phone number *
Would you prefer to be contacted via text or called?
Clear selection
Your email (please do NOT list your government email, if any) *
What is your occupation and employer?
Your union affiliation, past or present (if any). Please specify active/former/retired. *
Have you attended an AFL-CIO Path2Power candidate training or GLPA Training? *
What county do you reside in? *
What office are you running for? Please describe its geographic jurisdiction. *
How long is the term you are seeking (in years)? *
If elected, how many SUBSEQUENT terms would you be eligible to serve before the age limit prevents you from running again? *
Are you the incumbent for the office you are seeking? *
Will you appear on the ballot or are you a write-in candidate? *
Please list your opponent(s). *
Is there anything that we should know about your opponent(s)? / Why should we endorse you over your opponent(s)? *
Please describe your education, experience, and prior employment, and why you believe it qualifies you for the office that you seek. *
Why do you want to be a judge? *
The year, make (e.g., Ford) and model (e.g., Mustang) of your automobile *
Do you utilize union shops and buy union-made goods and services? Give an example. *
Website address (if any) *
Campaign committee name & address *
Campaign managers name *
Treasurer name *
How many votes do you need in order to win? (What is your "win number"?) *
How much money do you need to raise and how will you raise it? *
What is your cash on hand? *
How many doors do you personally plan to knock as a candidate? *
How many doors does your campaign plan to knock total (including your candidate doors)? *
How many doors have you personally already knocked as a candidate? *
How many doors has your campaign already knocked total (including your candidate doors)? *
What other endorsements do you already have? *
What other endorsements are you seeking? *
Please indicate the most important issues to your campaign, as well as any past advocacy or decisions you have made, and how they are relevant to the office you seek and to the HVALF's principles of social and economic justice and civil rights. *
General Labor Issues Section
Workers are organizing at a steady pace to improve their wages, benefits, and working conditions. Yet, in workplace after workplace, employers and the legislature are working to bust up unions through many different anti-labor tactics. Workers need the support of their communities now more than ever in order to overcome these tactics and be free to make an appropriate decision.
If you think workers' rights to organize, bargain collectively and strike are important in our society, please explain why.   *
Have you ever worked at a firm that employed or employs a union avoidance attorney, or that provides union avoidance services? *
Why should working families and labor organizations support your candidacy? *
What activities best demonstrate your commitment to workers' rights to organize and collective bargaining? Please provide specific examples. *
General Issues Section
As an elected judge, it will be your job to make decisions on a wide range of issues affecting your community and to fairly administer the law to people of many different backgrounds. Knowing that many of your constituents do not have access to resources that some well connected persons or organizations do, how do you plan to address the following issues?
What activities best demonstrate your commitment to civil rights, equality and justice?    Please provide specific examples. *
Who,  among current and past Michigan Supreme Court Justices, do you admire most?  Why? *
Have you ever been suspended or disbarred from the practice of law or reprimanded by the Attorney Discipline Board? If so, please indicate the date, nature and reasons for the discipline. *
What should we do to improve access to the legal system for those with insufficient income to hire  legal counsel? *
How, and under what conditions, will you focus more on restorative practices and rehabilitation than punishment? *
What do you see as the biggest problems with the current bail system and what are some ways you think it could be changed? *
How will you encourage collaborative efforts between all the courts to promote equal access to services to all court consumers? *
How will you advance the creation of alternative courts (e.g., drug court, veteran court, etc.)? *
What do you think could be done to ensure that no person is evicted from their home during the cold months or during times of crisis, and that nobody suffers from utility shut offs at any time? *
Please indicate which of the areas of law listed below have constituted a significant part of your practices (i.e., at least 10%) over the last 10 years.    
Types of Law Practiced
Bankruptcy
Collections
Commercial and Corporate (Defense)
Commercial and Corporate (Plaintiff)
Corporate Formation / Alteration
Criminal
ERISA or Employment Benefits
Family Law -- Excluding Divorce
Family Law -- Divorce only
Immigration
Labor Management Representation
Labor Union Representation
Mediation / Arbitration
Personal Injury -- Defense
Personal Injury-- Plaintiff
Real Estate
Taxation
During the last ten years, have you been a member of, or contributed money to, any of the following groups?   Please check all that apply. *
Required
What have you done to help build the progressive movement? *
Is there anything else that you would like HVALF delegates and Committee on Political Education (COPE) members to know about you? If so, please indicate below. *
I, a candidate seeking HVALF support, have reviewed this questionnaire and will stand by my responses. I understand that typing or writing my name below and submitting this form constitutes my signature. *
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