My Mission

Dear Macomb County Resident,  

            I am interested in serving as your next Macomb County Prosecutor.  I believe I have the requisite knowledge, judgment, temperament, diligence, skills and experience to capably serve as a "minister of justice" as envisioned by the American Bar Association's Model Rules of Professional Conduct.  MRPC Rule 3.8, entitled “Special Responsibilities of a Prosecutor” outlines in its commentary that "a prosecutor has the responsibility of a minister of justice and not simply that of an advocate.”  With over three decades of courtroom advocacy, I have a track record of achieving success for my clients.  Although running the Macomb County Prosecutor's Office is different than private practice,  I will rely on my experience as Hazel Park Prosecutor to help guide me through the challenges of seeking justice in each and every case.  Although on a much smaller scale, I was responsible for every decision made -- whether by me personally, or by another lawyer -- and ensuring that justice was done to the best of my abilities.

My tenure as President of the State Bar of Michigan has prepared me to manage an operation with the size and scope of the Macomb County Prosecutor's Office.  My State Bar experience overseeing a $10 million annual budget and 72 full-time employees, many of whom were lawyers, is comparable to the management challenges of the next prosecutor.  And like the State Bar, the Macomb County Prosecutor's Office is facing an existential crisis.  In 2014, the Michigan legislature was moving quickly to eliminate the State Bar because of a public policy disagreement.  Working closely with the Michigan Supreme Court, I helped ensure that the State Bar would continue to flourish by refocusing its attention on its principle mission of protecting the public.

            Macomb County deserves a prosecutor who is singularly focused on protecting the public.  Restoring public confidence in the integrity of the office is the most critical mission of the next Macomb County Prosecutor.  Fortunately, dealing with the demands of the public and the 43,000 attorneys and judges in the state is also a responsibility to which I have become accustomed.  I worked full-time as a State Bar leader without compensation and remain committed to the pursuit of justice for all.  I am volunteering part-time now, representing Michigan lawyers in the National Conference of Bar Presidents and the American Bar Association House of Delegates, the organized bar's ultimate policy-making body.  These leadership posts have empowered me to explore cutting-edge criminal justice issues with some of the brightest and most accomplished lawyers, judges and law enforcement officials in the nation.

            Although my professional activities at the state and national levels have given me a unique perspective on legal best practices, I have never lost touch with my Macomb County roots.  I worked my way up from being a parking attendant at the Young Lawyers Picnic in 1988 to being President of the Macomb County Bar Association in 1997, the first person ever elected under the age of 40.  At the time, judicial elections were becoming biennial endeavors of which nobody was particularly proud.  Working with all the judicial candidates in 1998, I helped lead the design, implementation and enforcement of voluntary campaign ethics reform measures that re-established an expectation of high professional standards.  Although the program was subsequently dismantled, judicial candidates in ensuing elections generally found that following the new ethical expectations benefited their campaigns.

            In 2001, I was appointed to serve on the Macomb County Board of Commissioners, helping govern a county larger than five states, with a $500 million annual budget and thousands of employees.  As Vice-Chairperson of the Commission’s Justice and Public Safety Committee, I helped supply law enforcement with the resources necessary to protect our community, particularly our senior citizens and our children.  I also learned the complexities of managing finances, personnel, programs, services, regulations and policies in the public arena.  My political knowledge and technical expertise will prove invaluable in implementing the necessary changes to the prosecutor's office and in building a compelling case for proper funding.

            In 2002, I was elected Chair of the Representative Assembly, the State Bar's final policy-making body. As an elected Representative of the lawyers in Macomb County, I spearheaded a line-by-line reconsideration of the Michigan Rules of Professional Conduct.  Of particular concern were the ethical responsibilities shouldered by lawyers and judges in the criminal justice system.  In 2008, I was elected Macomb County Charter Commissioner from Clinton Township.  As Chair of the Executive/Commissioner Committee, I helped lead my 25 colleagues in designing the new Macomb County Executive’s Office and reconfiguring the Board of Commissioners.  As part of this historic reform, a strict new ethics policy for Macomb County was mandated.

            Restoring public confidence in the integrity of the office is undoubtedly at the top of the agenda for the next Macomb County Prosecutor.  But achieving justice for all the stakeholders in the criminal justice system is the ultimate goal.  I want to lead Macomb County into an era of legal reform for which I have been advocating at the local, state and national levels.  I have developed a detailed plan to refocus the prosecutor's office by embracing best practices as well as some new and some improved "Justice Initiatives."  I look forward to working with everyone as a "minister of justice" when I am elected as Macomb County Prosecutor.

            Thank you for your interest in my campaign.   

                                                Sincerely,

                                                Tom Rombach