Gov. Whitmer appointee Anna White launches campaign to retain district court seat

HOLLAND — Anna White hopes she can continue as Ottawa County’s 58th district court judge. 

Appointed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on June 25, White replaced Judge Bradley Knoll for a partial term that began July 6 and will expire on Jan. 1, 2027. The announcement shifted White’s previous role from a deputy public defender to district court judge. 

Born and raised in West Michigan, White graduated from Hope College studying social work with a minor in Spanish, graduating in 2005 with a bachelor's degree. 

After graduating, White began working for Resiliance, a nonprofit organization dedicated to responding to, reducing and preventing domestic and sexual abuse in Ottawa and Allegan counties. While working there, White worked in the emergency shelter, transitional housing program and as a legal advocate helping people seeking personal protection orders. 

“I spent hundreds of hours in homes throughout our community and saw firsthand how family violence and trauma affected people and how difficult it could be to find their way in the court system,” said White. 

The experience led her to seek more ways to advocate for people involved in the legal system, which ultimately led her to law school. 

“(Working at Resilience) taught me that a legal case is never just a case number. Each case represents real people, families, and circumstances,” she said. “That perspective continues to influence the way I approach the law today.” 

White studied law at Thomas M. Cooley Law School, graduating in 2011 while continuing to work part-time at Resilience. It was there that White met and married her husband, then had her first child in 2011.

After passing the bar exam, White began working at Hann Persinger, PC. There, White fell in love with indigent criminal defence work, mediation and trial work. Mediation, White told Ottawa News Network, was particularly valuable. Teaching White how to step into difficult conversations, listen carefully to people who disagreed with each other and to also then help work towards fair and workable solutions. 

Through Hann Persinger, PC, White began developing relationships with law enforcement, prosecutors, community mental health professionals, nonprofit organizations and other community leaders. 

It was on the court-appointed list that White found meaning in indigent criminal defense — representing those who could not afford an attorney — during some of the most difficult times of peoples' lives while also simultaneously holding them accountable for their choices.  

“Those experiences taught me to listen to different perspectives, understand the responsibilities of each participant in the justice system, and approach difficult problems with both compassion and sound judgment,” said White. 

White was also involved in leadership at her church, Ridge Point, during her time at Hann Persinger, PC, and continues to participate on the advisory team and remains involved with the youth group. 

Her involvement with her church helped shape White into the judge she is. White told ONN that, “as a judge, my personal faith does not replace or change the law, and I have my responsibility to apply the law fairly to every person who comes before me. But my faith does inform the way I treat people: with dignity, humility, honesty, and respect.” 

During the years in private practice, White had her second child and lost her mother to cancer in the midst of raising young children. Working with people navigating criminal justice while navigating her own personal issues helped White understand that having the right kind of support can be incredibly important, White explains on her website. 

For the past seven years, White worked for the Ottawa County Defenders Office. While there, she helped teach new attorneys trial skills, mentoring them, and served on the board for the Ottawa County Bar Association. 

“My responsibility was to provide competent representation, make sure my clients understood their rights and options and ensure that they received a fair process under the law,” said White. 

While there, White remarks that she viewed the greatest privilege of the work as being trusted with clients' stories, and having conversations about what mistakes they had made, the consequences those individuals were facing, and the people they wanted to become. 

“People are capable of change, but change also requires personal responsibility,” said White. “My years in public defense strengthened my commitment to public service and gave me a firsthand understanding of how the justice system affects individuals, families and the broader community.” 

During the election Nov. 3, voters will select up to two candidates between 58th District Judge Juanita Bocanegra, White and Paul Ledford, a local attorney from Grandville and founder of Ledford & Associates. The two who receive the most votes will each earn a judgeship, according to Roebuck.

For more information on Anna White, visit annawhiteforjudge.com. 

— Mallory Burt is a reporter for Ottawa News Network. Contact her at newsroom@ottawanewsnetwork.org.