DETROIT (AP) - It doesn’t hurt to be a Hathaway to become a judge in Wayne County.
Nicholas Hathaway will join his wife as a judge on the Detroit-area Circuit Court after changing his last name to hers last year and narrowly winning election Tuesday.
Hathaway finished second in a four-candidate race for two seats on the court, according to results posted by the county.
He legally changed his name from Nicholas Bobak. He’s married to Dana Hathaway, who has been a judge since 2013.
By blood or by marriage, at least 10 members of the Hathaway family have served as Wayne County judges over the last two decades.
“I changed my name to honor my wife,” Hathaway said before the election, declining further comment.
Mary Beth Kelly, a former state Supreme Court justice, finished first with 27.8% of the vote. Hathaway got 24.88%, just ahead of Chandra Baker who had 24.81%.
Hathaway beat Baker by 621 votes to win the second seat. Each received more than 245,000 votes.
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