Houghton County’s high prosecutor turnover, explained
Helmer
Lately, the Houghton County prosecutor’s office has looked like a revolving door. Prosecutors come; prosecutors go. What is going on? Is there internal political turmoil? Some kind of shenanigans? Foul play?
Apparently, none of the above. The Copper Beacon looked into the situation, and it seems to be caused by two problems all too familiar in the UP: It’s hard to lure professionals from urban centers to a small, rural area, and the pay can’t compete. So the county finds it hard to hire assistant prosecutors who will stay to help carry the workload. That puts the entire burden on the prosecutor. It causes prosecutor burnout, and they leave.
“The county can’t find assistant prosecutors,” says Jennifer Kelly, Houghton County Clerk. “Younger attorneys take the position, and then they leave because they found a better job downstate with higher pay.”
Back in the day, it was hard for a young prosecutor to get a job, Kelly points out. Now there are a lot of unfilled jobs, and people are going to the bigger cities because they pay more.
Kelly hopes the County Commission will raise the assistant prosecutors’ pay.
“That’s the only way we’re going to float,” she says. “The County Commission says it has budget issues, but they also say we’re doing so well financially.”
History of Turnover
When Michael Makinen left the Houghton County prosecutor’s job in 2019, 12th Circuit Court Judge Charles R. Goodman appointed Makinen’s assistant prosecutor, Brittany Bulleit, to handle the rest of the prosecutor’s term. Then, in 2020, she was elected to her own four-year term as prosecutor. Bulleit was in her third year of that term when Judge Goodman retired, and Governor Gretchen Whitmer appointed her last May to fill the vacancy on the bench.
That left the prosecutor’s position empty again.
In July 2023, Paul LaBine was appointed Houghton County prosecutor. A local attorney who was also serving as mayor of Hancock, LaBine said at the time,
“I’m excited to start. My primary task right now is to aggressively recruit some attorneys for the office. There should be three attorneys in this office, and I am the only attorney, so that will be my primary task.”
But he couldn’t do it. He couldn’t fill the assistant prosecutor positions. LaBine lasted less than two months before he resigned as prosecutor, citing issues with understaffing in the department and noncompetitive salaries being offered to assistant prosecutor candidates.
A New Prosecutor
Dan Helmer, an assistant prosecutor in Kent County downstate, was hired last October. He will be the third prosecutor in Houghton County this year.
Kelly swore Helmer in on Dec. 4, a day after a brutal murder involving another attorney at Houghton’s Douglass House Saloon. That was Helmer’s welcome to Houghton County. He will have to handle that case.
“But I think he knows what he’s getting into,” Kelly says.
Helmer is also facing an election in 2024, which could be a challenge since he’s new to the community, Kelly points out.
Although he was working downstate when he applied for the Houghton County prosecutor’s job, Helmer has roots in the UP. His family has lived in Marquette for 33 years.
He says he’s quite excited about being back in the UP. But he’s aware of the challenges he faces here.
“This is stressful work,” he says. “Prosecutors everywhere get burned out.”
Staffing is the biggest problem—not being able to attract talented staff and not being able to pay them a good wage, Helmer says.
“We’ve had two openings for assistant prosecutors here for over a year. We need to find talented attorneys, pay them a good wage and make them want to stay,” he goes on to say. “The state is paying so much for court-appointed attorneys that we can’t compete.”
The prosecutor’s caseload in Houghton County is enormous since his office must handle adult criminal cases, juvenile delinquency, family issues, custody disputes, and more.
“I can do it myself, but in the long run, that’s not sustainable,” Helmer says. “It’s enough to keep three attorneys busy. It is definitely a three-person job.”
The County Commission has approved slots for two assistant prosecutors. Helmer’s first challenge will be filling those positions. The new prosecutor says he has some people interested in the jobs. He is trying to be creative, he adds, considering options such as part-time or contract attorneys.
If Helmer succeeds in turning the prosecutor’s office around, maybe its door will stop revolving.
