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July 25, 2004Bitter foes meet in primaryProsecutor, former assistant face offByRecord-Eagle staff writer CHARLEVOIX - Handshakes, mutual respect and a friendly discussion of issues won't be found in Charlevoix County's Republican race for prosecutor. Prosecutor Mary Beth Kur and challenger John Jarema, quite simply, don't like each other. The Aug. 3 primary race features Kur against Jarema, the chief deputy whom she fired for disloyalty. Jarema then accused the prosecutor of fraud and mismanagement, and later sued. He has now spent months disparaging his former boss's job performance to potential county voters. "I think he's been evasive, and he has distorted my trial record," Kur said. "He's been divisive. He doesn't have the experience I have." Jarema counters by criticizing Kur's lack of time in court, noting she has personally handled no misdemeanor trials since 2001 and only two felony trials since 2000. "It's appalling that a prosecutor would sit back and wait for a major case to come along," he said. "Minor cases still have victims of crimes." Conflict between Kur and Jarema goes back almost four years. But it culminated in Kur's firing of Jarema as chief deputy prosecutor in February 2002. Jarema at the time was preparing to go to county commissioners with allegations of fraud and mismanagement of the prosecutor's office by Kur. Jarema alleged some assistant prosecutors were being paid for hours they weren't working. Jarema had been recording the comings and goings of his co-workers on a calendar for months. Kur denied any wrongdoing, and said Jarema was fired for not being a team player. Jarema later sued Kur and the county under the Whistleblower's Protection Act, and ultimately received a $50,000 stipulated judgment before the case went to trial. "I think the fact I got a judgment against (Kur) in a case alleging that she committed fraud speaks for itself," Jarema said. Kur said the decision to settle the lawsuit was a strategic one by the county's insurer, and one she did not support. "I wasn't happy about it. I didn't do anything wrong," she said. Kur said she now believes Jarema's office divisiveness and subsequent lawsuit were motivated by his desire for her job. "He was bad-mouthing me to other attorneys; he was creating a huge clique within the office that had the potential to cause problems with the way the office ran," she said. "I thought all along that it was a politically motivated lawsuit, and I still do." Kur said Jarema's criticism of her trial appearances "takes a snapshot" that is "completely unrepresentative" of her legal career. Kur was appointed prosecutor in 1995, when then-prosecutor Richard May became a local district judge. Kur then ran unopposed in 1996 and 2000. "Over the last 13 years I have tried everything from murder to jaywalking," she said. "(Jarema) has never tried a capital case, where the maximum penalty is life in prison. He's never argued a case in front of the Michigan Court of Appeals. He's never tried a child neglect and abuse case. He's never successfully tried before a jury a criminal sexual conduct case." Jarema said Kur asked for and received a 6-percent pay raise last year, calling it "hard to justify." "I think the issues that have been brought out so far are trial experience, experience running the office and fiscal responsibility," he said. "That is what every taxpayer should be concerned with." Charlevoix County Republican Party chairman John Haggard said he has not chosen sides in the race. "I support them both," he said. Haggard said he thinks the vote will be a close one Aug. 3. "My hope is once it's over, everybody is united behind the nominee," he said.
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