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August 4, 2004Charlevoix prosecutor loses to former employeeJohn Jarema won lawsuit against Mary Beth KurByRecord-Eagle staff writer CHARLEVOIX - Charlevoix County Prosecutor Mary Beth Kur fired her then-chief deputy, John Jarema, two years ago. Now it's Jarema who will likely be taking over the prosecutor's job, and it's Kur leaving office. Jarema stunned his incumbent former boss in Tuesday's Republican primary, winning a narrow victory. Jarema outpaced Kur 2,825-2,661 with only Eveline Township not reporting late Tuesday. Jarema will be the overwhelming favorite against Green Party prosecutor candidate Ellis Boal in the Nov. 2 general election. Kur said she called Jarema's home telephone late Tuesday night and left a message on his answering machine, conceding defeat. Attempts to reach Jarema for comment late Tuesday were unsuccessful. The Kur-Jarema campaign was one of the most interesting - and contentious - of all the northern Michigan primary races. Jarema received a $50,000 settlement from the county last year after filing a whistleblower's lawsuit claiming he was fired as he attempted to expose alleged corruption and mismanagement in Kur's office. Kur consistently denied any wrongdoing. Jarema promised to be a more in-court prosecutor, blasting Kur's record of rarely handling trials herself. Kur, in turn, throughout her campaign said Jarema lacked experience and a grasp of the job's requirements. Kur heavily outpaced Jarema in campaign fund-raising. She declined to speculate on the reason for her ouster. "I just decided at the beginning this that I was going to take the high road, run a positive campaign," she said. "That's what we did and I'm happy with that, although I'm not happy with the result." East Jordan voter Allison MacKay seemed as enthusiastic about voting against Kur as she did for Jarema. "I'm going to vote her out," MacKay said, as she headed toward the polls. MacKay said Jarema "seems more honest, straightforward." She said of Kur, "there's too much politics there."
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