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James Metz, 59, of Worth Township was one of four candidates running for the 73rd District Court bench, to succeed Judge James Marcus who will retire in December. .

A retired assistant prosecutor in Wayne County with 28 years of service, Metz announced his candidacy for judge in May. He was active in Worth Township government for the past five years, as chairman of the board of zoning appeals and as a member of the planning commission. He was employed by the Michigan Attorney Grievance Commission.

Metz died July 1 of an apparent heart attack.

"I found it almost impossible to believe. He was a picture of health," said John O'Hair, former elected prosecutor of Wayne County for 18 years, a period that spanned Metz's service.

"He was just an outstanding prosecutor," recalled O'Hair, a frequent visitor to his son's farm in the Croswell area. "He was basically a decent human being. Straight-forward, not pretentious, always tried to do the right thing. He had total of 28 years and he really knew his way through the criminal justice system."

He added, "I think highly of Jim Marcus. I think he's done a fine job. I thought Jim (Metz) would be a very suitable replacement."

"He was a really nice guy," said Worth Township Trustee Jack Wylie.

He recalled Metz's first meeting as chairman of the appeals board. "He ran the meeting just like a court case, which was good," said Wylie.

"He would have made a good judge, but how we'll never really know."

Metz's death leaves three candidates in the race for judge: Greg Ross, David Myers and Dennis Reid. The top two vote-getters in the August Primary will advance to the general election in November.