Highland Park activist Robert Davis, who has a history of knocking political candidates off of ballots, is challenging the candidacy of Wayne County Circuit Judge Dana Hathaway.
Davis alleged in a complaint filed Wednesday that Hathaway, who is running for reelection, should be removed from the ballot because her affidavit of identity “contains a false statement.”
On candidates’ affidavits, they are required to identify every county in which they ran for office. On Hathaway’s affidavit, which she submitted on March 5, the judge inexplicably wrote “state” instead of the counties in which she previously ran.
She should have written “Wayne County” and “Oakland County,” Davis points out in his complaint to election officials, including Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson.
“It’s very clear that her affidavit of identity doesn’t comply with the statute because she failed to list the counties that she previously ran in as a candidate,” Davis tells Metro Times.
While the mistake may seem minor, the law clearly states that a candidate is not qualified to appear on the ballot if there are any false statements.
Davis has gotten numerous other candidates removed from the ballot for similar mistakes and false statements.
Asked whether state law allows Hathaway to fix the false statement, Davis says, “There’s not a chance.”
Hathaway is part of a family with strong ties to the judicial system in Michigan. At least six Hathaways are current or retired Wayne County Circuit Court judges.
Her husband Nicholas J. Bobak Hathaway, and another relative, Bridget Hathaway, also serve on the Wayne County Circuit Court. Her husband changed his last name to Hathaway when he ran for the position in 2020.
Her father is Richard Hathaway, a retired Wayne County Circuit judge, one-time Wayne County treasurer, and a chief assistant Wayne County prosecutor. Her mother is Diane Hathaway, a former Michigan Supreme Court justice who was sentenced to a year in federal prison in 2013 after pleading guilty to bank fraud.
Davis isn’t done trying to remove other judges from the 2024 ballot.
“There are going to be other incumbent judges who are going to be adversely impacted as well,” Davis says, adding that he will file complaints against them in the near future.
The deadline for an incumbent to file for candidacy or fix any false statements was the end of March.
“It was mandatory for Hathaway’s affidavit of identity to provide the counties she previously ran in as a candidate,” Davis wrote, citing state law.
Metro Times couldn’t reach Hathaway for comment.
Hathaway was hospitalized on March 20 for unknown reasons. At 1:18 p.m., her husband, who was downtown at the time, called 911 and told the operator his wife was on the upper floor of their home in Grosse Pointe Park.
“I’m very scared,” according to audio of the redacted call obtained by Metro Times.
Hathaway was at Ascension St. John in Detroit for several days.
I got a redacted recording of the 911 call requesting help for Wayne County Circuit Judge Dana Hathaway, who was hospitalized last month. Her husband Judge Nicholas Hathaway made the call from downtown. "I'm very scared," he said. https://t.co/MNjUX8n976 pic.twitter.com/Qc6rctvdxq
— Steve Neavling (@MCmuckraker) April 25, 2024
