The committee’s reversal came the same night former employees went on the record about a pattern of cash handling, threats, and mistreatment they say went unaddressed for years, and the same week a member of Siver’s campaign tried to discredit the reporter covering it.
I want to be direct about something before going further, because it’s relevant to how you read the rest of this piece. This week, a member of Tom Siver’s campaign contacted a newspaper I used to write for and told them I was not a real person, this to people who have met me in person and reviewed my published work. I sent that campaign a cease and desist. I am naming that here because Clutch Justice discloses when a subject of its reporting has tried to discredit the reporting itself, not because it changes anything about the documentation below. The allegations in this piece come from on-the-record former employees and documents Clutch Justice has reviewed directly. They do not depend on my word alone, and they would not disappear if I did.
On August 27, 2026, the Allegan County GOP Executive Committee voted 12-4 to reverse its endorsement of judicial candidate Tom Siver. The vote followed weeks of mounting complaints from former employees, and it came the same night Clutch Justice confirmed new, on-the-record allegations involving cash handling, threats to employees, and a mental health crisis that led to Siver’s arrest during a Zoom court proceeding. Clutch Justice is now compiling documentation for submission to the Michigan Attorney Grievance Commission.
It voted 12-4 to reverse its prior endorsement of judicial candidate Tom Siver.
On-the-record former employees describe cash handling outside a trust account, threats to file grievances to reclaim pay, and derogatory treatment of female staff. Grievance Commission records show eight grievances filed against Siver in three years.
Compiling complaints and supporting documentation from former employees and witnesses for submission to the Michigan Attorney Grievance Commission. Anyone with relevant documentation can reach out directly.
Clutch Justice has not received a response addressing the specific allegations in this piece. This article will be updated if one is received.
What Happened Tonight
The Allegan County GOP Executive Committee met tonight and voted 12-4 to reverse its earlier endorsement of Tom Siver, who is seeking a judicial seat. The reversal follows a period in which complaints about Siver’s conduct toward former employees circulated among committee members and, according to people present, were raised directly in the room before the vote.
According to individuals who attended the meeting, four committee members spoke in defense of Siver’s conduct during the discussion that preceded the vote, this despite documented accounts of employees being threatened and mistreated. Those four members are not named in this piece because Clutch Justice does not have on-the-record confirmation of their identities. The Allegan County GOP Executive Committee is a public body making a public endorsement decision, and Clutch Justice believes the four members who voted to keep that endorsement in place, after hearing the allegations described below, should be identified publicly. A committee that asks the public to trust its vetting process does not get to conduct that vetting anonymously.
The Pattern Described by Former Employees
Multiple former employees, speaking on the record, described a consistent pattern in how Siver handled money and managed staff. According to their accounts, Siver kept stacks of cash in his office rather than depositing client funds into a trust account, the standard practice required to keep client money segregated and traceable. Former employees also describe a practice in which Siver would pay staff and then attempt to reclaim that money by threatening to file grievances against them, using the threat of a formal complaint as leverage to get funds back after the fact.
Former employees also told Clutch Justice that Siver referred to female staff as “whores.” Clutch Justice has reviewed documentation supporting these accounts. This is not a single disgruntled former employee’s version of events. It is a pattern, described consistently, by people who worked for him.
That statement matters here because it frames what is actually being decided. This is not a workplace dispute in isolation. It is a question of whether a person who allegedly treated employees this way should hold a judicial seat, a position that exists specifically to be trusted with other people’s money, other people’s cases, and other people’s futures.
Clutch is free to read. It isn’t free to produce. Court records, FOIA requests, research databases, document access, technology and hundreds of hours of investigation make this work possible. Clutch Confidential is how readers who value that work can help sustain it, and get more from Clutch in return.
$10/month ?The Zoom Court Incident
According to witnesses who viewed the proceeding, Siver was taken into custody during a Zoom court hearing following what witnesses describe as a mental health crisis. Video of the hearing reportedly exists. Clutch Justice is not characterizing Siver’s diagnosis or mental state beyond what witnesses observed and reported, and this piece will be updated if Clutch Justice obtains and reviews the footage directly. The relevant fact for readers evaluating a judicial candidate is narrower and more concrete: an arrest occurred during a court proceeding, in front of witnesses, and that fact was known to at least some of the committee members who considered tonight’s vote.
The Grievance Record
Grievance Commission records reviewed by Clutch Justice show Siver has been the subject of eight separate grievances filed in the past three years. Clutch Justice has not yet obtained the disposition of each filing and is not characterizing this figure as a finding of misconduct on any individual complaint. Eight grievances in three years against a single attorney is, on its own, a volume worth documenting publicly, particularly for an attorney now seeking a judicial seat.
None of this is a single bad night. It’s a pattern that a room full of committee members heard directly, and four of them decided to excuse it anyway.
Timeline
“Now I’m going to buy a judge seat”
Siver launches his judicial campaign, telling supporters he bought a house on a lake in Allegan and was now going to buy a judge seat, according to Williams, who has covered the race since it began.
Eight grievances, one pattern
Grievance Commission records reviewed by Clutch Justice show eight separate grievances filed against Siver. Former employees describe cash kept outside a trust account and a practice of threatening grievances against staff to reclaim pay.
Flag: dispositions of individual filings not yet obtained.
Arrest during a Zoom court proceeding
Witnesses say Siver was taken into custody during a Zoom court hearing following a mental health crisis. Video of the hearing reportedly exists.
Flag: Clutch Justice has not yet obtained and reviewed the footage directly.
Committee reverses endorsement 12-4
The Allegan County GOP Executive Committee votes 12-4 to reverse its endorsement of Siver. Four members speak in defense of his conduct before the vote.
Campaign targets the reporter
A member of Siver’s campaign contacts a newspaper Williams formerly wrote for and claims she is not a real person. Williams sends a cease and desist.
Institutional Response Scorecard
Verdict: the committee’s own process caught up to the record tonight. The question left standing is why four members needed a public vote to be shown the door on this one.
What Clutch Justice Is Doing Next
Clutch Justice is compiling the complaints, records, and witness accounts described in this piece for submission to the Michigan Attorney Grievance Commission. This is not a single complaint. It is a documented pattern, and it is being assembled as one.
If you are a former employee, witness, or client with documentation relevant to this matter, contact Clutch Justice directly at hello@clutchjustice.com. Accounts will be handled with the same editorial standards applied throughout this piece.
Why This Matters
A judicial seat is not a reward for winning an election. It is a position built on the assumption that the person holding it can be trusted with other people’s money, other people’s cases, and other people’s safety. Eight grievances in three years, cash kept outside a trust account, and a pattern of threatening staff to reclaim pay are not personality complaints. They are the exact categories of conduct the Michigan Attorney Grievance Commission exists to evaluate, and they are the exact categories of conduct a party committee is supposed to weigh before putting its name behind a candidate for the bench.
The Allegan County GOP Executive Committee corrected course tonight, 12-4. Four of its members did not want to. The public is entitled to know who they are.
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