Circuit Court field grows as Housey, Sakwa enter race

Two new candidates have announced that they are running for an open seat on the Oakland County Circuit Court that will be created because Family Division Judge Edward Sosnick is barred from seeking reelection due to age.

Sahera Housey and Layne Sakwa have joined family law attorney Karen McDonald in the race for a six-year term on the Circuit Court bench, which pays approximately $140,000 annually.

Housey, a Novi resident, is a Friend of the Court referee, a position she’s held since 2007, presiding over more than 5,000 enforcement hearings and 3,000 custody, parenting time, and child support hearings, according to a release announcing her candidacy. She holds degrees from the University of Detroit-Mercy School of Law and the University of Detroit.

“There is no greater honor than the opportunity to serve the community,” Housey said in a press release. “Having spent my career fighting for justice for Oakland County families, I am confident that my experience working directly with those involved with the court system on a daily basis, makes me uniquely qualified to serve as Oakland County’s next Circuit Judge, most likely in the family court.”

Sakwa, who has worked in as an assistant prosecutor in the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office’s Special Victims Section, Juvenile Section, and District Court Section since 2004, received her law degree from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law and her undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan, her campaign said.

“I have been a public servant my entire career,” Sakwa said in a press release. “I am in the courtroom daily where I utilize my skills and experiences to maintain justice. Whether adult or juvenile, individual or family, civil or criminal, I wish to continue my commitment to the people of Oakland County as your next Circuit Court judge.”

Sosnick, who will turn 72-years-old in December, can’t run for re-election because state law prohibits judges from seeking another term in office if they are 70-years-old or older.

The filing deadline for non-incumbent judicial candidates wishing to run in the Aug. 7 primary election is May 1. The two candidates receiving the highest number of votes in that contest will move on to the November general election.