DEARBORN — Attorney and former 19th District Court Magistrate Sam Salamey officially announced his candidacy for the court’s upcoming judge seat this week, and he’s doing so with the endorsement of the city’s top official, Mayor Jack O’Reilly.

Salamey, 53, served 15 years as a judicial magistrate and said that the experience gave him a strong insight into the inner workings of the court.

Salamey came in third after a close vote in 2006 for the same position, and is now primed to make another run at what has a position that has been a lifelong goal. 

“I’ve always aspired to be a district court judge and I didn’t want to run for Circuit Court or any other position outside of Dearborn,” Salamey said. “I intended to run again after 2006 and I believe the timing is good, I believe it is time for a change and I am the person who can bring about positive change.” 

O’Reilly, who has endorsed winning judges in the past for judgeship in the 19th District Court in the past in William Hultgren and Mark Somers, knows Salamey well and appointed him to the the city’s Ethics Board, after which fellow commissioners chose him to be the chairman. 

“I have known and worked with Sam Salamey for many years in Dearborn,” O’Reilly, himself a licensed attorney, said in a statement. “I can honestly say that as judge, Sam Salamey will be dedicated to insuring that the Dearborn court serves the best interests of everyone in Dearborn.”

Salamey said that having the support of the mayor is a big bonus for his campaign. 

“Getting his endorsement is a very prestigious thing, I am glad that the mayor has seen that I most qualified of the three people running,” he said. 

“As effective of an administrator as he is with the knowledge of the city and the court that he has, that speaks volumes.” 

The seat of current judge Richard Wygonik will be up for grabs as a six-year term.  Candyce Abbatt, an attorney who nearly defeated current judge Mark Somers in 2008, will be one of two opponents along with Wygonik. Salamey said he hopes to help change the current environment in the courthouse, where he still has friends from his time as a magistrate. 

“We as Dearborn taxpayers may very well have to payout close to two million dollars in judgments because of the way the court is run and administered,” he said. “There is no doubt that the court morale of the employees has dropped and the court is currently encompassed by the bad relationship with the judges, and there is constant fighting…This is not a very healthy environment and it really should be changed.”

He realizes that he has a difficult race ahead of him with Abbatt and Wygonik, but remains firm in his belief that he’s the best man for the job. 

Salamey called Abbatt a “fine person and attorney” but said that he believes her experience is more relevant to Circuit Court, saying that she mostly deals with domestic relations and family law which is not within the jurisdiction of the district court. 

Salamey, 53, served 15 years as a judicial magistrate and said that the experience gave him a strong insight into the inner workings of the court. 

“I’ve been exposed to everything the district judges have been, with the exception of presiding over the actual trials,” he said. In addition, Salamey believes his experience in trials as a prosecuting attorney for Garden City and Romulus as well as his background as an attorney practicing mostly in criminal defense makes him an ideal to make the transition to judge. 

Salamey has lived in Dearborn since age 14 and began with the city as a community relations officer with the Dearborn Police. Following that, he taught at Fordson High School as a vocational technician. He attended Thomas M. Cooley Law School in Lansing before beginning a legal career at Berry, Francis, Seifman and Mack law firm in Dearborn, making partner after three years at the law firm alongside Sir Michael Berry. Salamey is happily married with four children. 

The primaries for the race will be August 7 with the top two vote getters moving on. Those who would like to register must do so by July 7 in order to vote, by filling out a simple application and sending it to the City Clerk’s Office. It is also available on the SOS website. 

Salamey also stressed that absentee ballots are easy to obtain from the clerk’s office as well by calling 313.943.2021, and can be filled out in the event that a person will be out of town or have some other conflict of interest with voting. They are then mailed back to the office for counting in the race.