Hayse makes bid for 94th District Court Seat
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ESCANABA -- Andrew Hayse, a candidate for 94th District Court judge, is drawing on his experience in the courtroom and his work in the Delta County legal system as he campaigns for the position.
Hayse, 32, currently serves as a domestic relations referee in the Delta County 47th Circuit Court, where he presides over divorce and child custody cases. He also serves as an after-hours magistrate for the 94th District Court, regularly setting bonds and signing search warrants.
"I’ve got experience presiding over a courtroom, listening to facts and evidence and then making a decision about that, and also managing a docket," Hayse said. "It's a lot of stuff that the district court judge needs to know how to do…. I'm not going to need to learn this role the way that most people do when they get elected judge."
Hayse's interest in the legal profession began with his father, a police detective who regularly went to court for his job.
"I'd go with him on 'Take Your Child to Work Days,' and I'd get to see my dad in court. I always thought that the prosecutors, judges and defense attorneys were the coolest people ever," Hayse said.
Hayse, who is originally from New Boston, Michigan, said he initially wanted to follow in his father's footsteps and become a police officer, but concerns from his family about the dangers of the job and his intrigue in the courtroom led him toward a career as an attorney.
Upon graduation from Wayne State University Law School, Hayse was given a list of counties where he could serve through a paid public-interest internship.
"I went into the interview and I said, 'You can send me to any county, and I’ll go, I’ll do a good job and I’ll have a great learning experience,'" Hayse recalled. "I looked at the list of counties that were on there and saw that Delta County was the farthest one away from home. I pointed to it and I said, ‘You can send me to Delta County."
Despite receiving job offers downstate that would have kept him closer to his family, he decided to move north to work as an assistant prosecuting attorney in the Delta County Prosecutor's Office.
Hayse eventually met his wife, Darby Becken, who is a lifelong Escanaba resident. Becken's parents have been immersed in the community. Darby's mother, Sue, was a professor at Bay College and Lake State Superior University. Darby's father, Brian, worked as a counselor at the Intermediate School District.
"I feel like I’ve been rewarded by God by going out there, doing something that was out of my comfort zone and meeting the love of my life," Hayse added. "Even if I didn't grow up here, I married into a family that is integral to the community."
Hayse is a member of the Escanaba Elks and the Escanaba Athletics Fan Club, and he teaches Sunday school at his church.
According to Hayse, he had been considering a run for District Court judge for the past couple of years before deciding sometime last year to pursue the position.
A major focus of his campaign is establishing a mental health court. Hayse said his experience in the prosecutor's office showed him how often people facing legal trouble were also dealing with mental health concerns.
"When I was at the prosecutor’s office, there were people that we’d prosecute who were dealing with mental health issues that didn’t qualify for not guilty by insanity," Hayse said. "We've got a whole subset of our population who are dealing with these mental health concerns, who if they were medicated, if they just got the counseling they needed and got their concerns addressed, they'd be perfectly productive members of society."
Hayse noted even an initial collaboration among agencies involved in a mental health court program could make a difference in the community.
"Obviously our drug court's been super successful," Hayse added. "I'd like to afford that same opportunity to people suffering with mental health issues. I think we've got the good infrastructure at the district court in order to expand the program and progress that we've made with substance abuse issues and tackle other serious issues."
He further pointed to the existing drug court program as an example of a system making a large impact, noting he has immense respect for current 94th District Court Judge Steve Parks.
"I think Judge Parks has been one of the most influential and important judges that our county has had. The drug court program was a big step outside of what Delta County's comfort zone was, and I think we've seen huge dividends. I've seen people go through the program, and it changes their lives forever," Hayse said.
Like his opponent, Hayse is also passionate about attracting more attorneys to the area.
"We’ve got plenty of kids that graduate from our high schools who go down, they get four-year degrees, they go to law school and then they make the decision (to move elsewhere)," Hayse said. "If we’re really going to keep our talented young people here, we’ve got to be able to attract people who don’t normally live here."
One of the ways Hayse hopes to bring more attorneys to the area is by starting a paid public-interest internship at the courthouse.
“There’s a line item specifically for the after-hours magistrate program that I’d like to divert, at least in part, in order to start this internship," Hayse said. "If we get more people in this courthouse… that’ll mean that we can fill the prosecutor’s office. We can have a defense attorney that doesn’t get burnt out because their caseload is so high. It means that you and I don't have to wait five or six weeks for an attorney."
Hayse believes he has the qualities a District Court judge needs to serve the people of Delta County.
"I’ve got that patience and ability to listen, understand, be calm, cool and collected in order to really hear people out and then make the decisions that are right and make the decisions that are just," Hayse said.
Hayse has been endorsed by current and former attorneys James Maki, Casey Buchmiller, John Reardon, Daniel DeGrand and Jim Viau. Jim Beauchamp, a member on the Escanaba Area Public Schools Board of Education, also endorsed Hayse.
To learn more about Hayse's campaign for 94th District Court judge, visit www.andrewhayseforjudge.com or follow his Facebook page, "Andrew Hayse for 94th District Court Judge."
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Sophie Vogelmann can be reached at 906-786-2021, ext. 148, or svogelmann@dailypress.net.