Hillsdale native Megan Stiverson, a Hillsdale County family court referee and juvenile court administrator, is running for district court judge.
“I was born and raised here in Hillsdale County so my run means something to me,” Stiverson said.
Except for her time in college, Stiverson has spent her whole adult life in the Hillsdale and Jonesville areas. After a semester of law school, she and her husband found out they were expecting their first child and moved back to Hillsdale.
“This is where we wanted to be anyway,” Stiverson said. “We wanted to be surrounded by our family and friends and live in the community, so I haven’t left since.”
Stiverson has worked for current probate judge Michelle Bianchi for four years. Bianchi said she doesn’t have any hesitation about Megan’s fitness for the job of district court judge.
“She will be thoughtful, she will be kind, and will be stern when she needs to be,” Bianchi said.
Stiverson said she prides herself on her commitment to fairness and impartiality. She said that although people have been upset with her decisions in the past, she doesn’t believe anyone could walk away feeling treated unfairly.
Stiverson’s husband, who works in the Hillsdale County Sheriff’s Office, is sometimes called as a witness in a case, a conflict in which Stiverson’s commitment to fairness and impartiality comes into play. She said it comes down to, “knowing when, in the interest of fairness, I should remove myself from a case.”
Stiverson said it’s important for voters to consider how their candidate has served the public prior to the election.
“I’m the only candidate that’s running that has served in really all capacities,” she said.
She has done private work as an attorney, an administrator, and is currently a judicial official. “I’ve been serving in a judicial capacity for the last three years so to me this felt like a natural progression toward actually running for an elected judicial position,” Stiverson said.
Stiversen emphasized the necessity of separating judicial rulings from personal opinions. “You have to be able to make decisions in the law that may conflict with your personal belief,” she said.
Stiverson expressed the hardships of running during the pandemic. “Campaigning during COVID-19 has really been a downer,” Stiverson said. “We should be getting ready for the fair, we should be sitting at the fair, and I should be walking around and shaking hands and talking to the people,” Stiverson said.
But, she added her kids didn’t mind it.
“They did a lot of walking for me so if you asked them if it was fun, they would probably say, ‘Well, conditioning was good for fall sports,’” Stiverson said.
Stiverson said she wants voters to know she is accessible at any time. “I want people to know who I am as a person,” she said. She keeps her personal phone number on her Facebook page, and personally answers most of the messages she receives through the page.
“People can call me or text me at any point in time,” she said. “I love having community conversations.”
