SECOND CHANCE

Democrat state Representative Kyra Bolden of Southfield may get another shot at the Michigan Supreme Court after landing in third place in the recent general election balloting. Bolden was nominated to the court position on the ballot by state Democrats, along with incumbent (blind) justice Richard Bernstein, who won reelection, as did Republican nominated incumbent justice Brian Zahra. For the two court seats on the ballot, Bernstein led the field with 34 percent of the vote, followed by Zahra with 24 percent. Right behind Zahra was Bolden with 22 percent of the vote, some 122,000 votes behind second place. Her third-place finish, some observers speculate, could leave her in contention for an appointment by the governor to the high court later this year when Michigan Supreme Court Chief Justice Bridget Mary McCormack leaves the court. McCormack announced her resignation months ago after 10 years on the court, four of which were spent as chief justice. She is scheduled to take the position of president and chief executive of the New York City-based American Arbitration International Center for Dispute Resolution in February. The chattering class says a Bolden appointment would allow Gov. Whitmer to diversify the court with the first Black female to take a spot on the bench. Some say that Bolden’s resume as an attorney is thin, but her  supporters say her time in the Michigan House would add legislative perspective to the bench. Still others suggest that Whitmer  may also be looking for geographic diversity on the bench with the appointment of someone from the Upper Peninsula. Whoever gets the governor’s nod will have to run in 2024 for the remaining years on the McCormack term.