By Jessica Mathews / news@whmi.com


A former judge has announced his candidacy for Livingston County Prosecutor, while levying some harsh allegations against the man who currently holds the seat.

Just over a year after resigning as a Judge of the Livingston County’s 44th Circuit Court, former Chief Judge David Reader announced that he has filed to run for prosecutor. In Michigan, state law requires that a sitting judge resign at least one year before running for partisan office. In a press release, Reader said he walked away from what he thought would be the pinnacle of his legal career because it was the only way to address a problem he felt duty bound to do something about. Reader alleges the Livingston County Prosecutor’s Office has “lost its way”. The release continued “From turning a blind eye to the powerful and connected, to continuing senseless prosecutions despite exculpatory evidence because of a win-at-all-costs attitude, justice has become lost to the current Prosecutor.” Reader went on to say that as chief judge he was a strong advocate for specialty courts that would address the challenges of people in the system with specific challenges or problems that the criminal justice system and jail time did a poor job of addressing - alleging that Sitting Prosecutor Bill Vailliencourt was not supportive.

Vailliencourt has responded to say that he has been a strong, effective, and independent prosecutor – emphasizing that he is not one of the good-old-boys and the good-old-boy network won’t control the Prosecutor’s Office as long as he’s prosecutor. Vailliencourt says his focus has always been on doing justice and doing the right thing in every case. He added that he has participated personally with the specialty courts and many members of his staff are critical partners in each of the county’s specialty courts. Vailliencourt added that especially during this public health crisis, his focus will continue to be on providing the highest level of service to the citizens of Livingston County.

The full statements from both Reader and Vailliencourt are attached.

Also filing for the Prosecutor's office is Democrat Ragan Lake of Hamburg Township.