A judge running for re-election in Eastpointe has a campaign snafu to contend with: She has three dead lawyers listed as endorsing her on her website. And one of them is related to her opponent.
Judge Kathleen Galen of 38th District Court is seeking re-election to her seat, which she has held for the last six years. Her opponent is Richard Goodman, a Macomb County Friend of the Court attorney, who is taking issue with Galen's website, which lists endorsements from three local attorneys who are deceased.
They are Michael Janadia, who died in 2021 at 57; Timothy Doty, who died in 2024 at 58; and Azhar Sheikh, who died in April 2025 and is related to Goodman. According to family, he was Goodman's mother's cousin.
"These families should not have to
see the name of someone that they have lost on a campaign website. One of them happens to be a member of my family. Judge Galen should take those names down today," Goodman stated in a Sept. 30 news release.
Goodman also took a shot at the sitting judge, stating: "Judge Galen asks Eastpointe residents to trust her with the details of their lives. She should start with the details on her own website."
As of 11:40 a.m., following an inquiry from the Free Press, the endorsement page on Galen's campaign website had been taken down. Moments later, the entire website was removed and is currently listed as being "under construction."
In a statement to the Free Press, Galen's campaign explained the following:
"The page containing the names you asked about is from a previous campaign website that was improperly listed. We understand why seeing those names there would raise concerns, particularly for their families, and we are working to locate and remove the older content and replace."
While the Nov. 3 general election is a little over a month away, Galen's campaign contends the following: "Our current campaign website has not been published ... we are separately addressing the older page you identified and that was mistakenly listed as our webpage."
The Free Press also reached out to Goodman, who was unavailable for comment. But his father, Mt. Clemens attorney Richard J. Goodman, confirmed for the Free Press that one of the deceased lawyers listed on Galen's website, Sheikh, is a relative of the family.
"I was surprised that (Galen) had listed him as giving an endorsement. He was well known amongst the legal community, and I’m sure most people knew that he had passed away," Richard J. Goodman said in a phone conversation. "I think it’s just not keeping mind of the details, just putting stuff out without fact checking it."
Tresa Baldas: tbaldas@freepress.com
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Metro Detroit judge lists 3 dead lawyers as backing her for reelection
