Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
As with most general elections, there are important races on the Nov. 3 ballot. And with congressional, legislative and county races, it's easy to overlook the significance of the state Supreme Court contests.
But this year, more than others, voters have a chance to upend the chronic cronyism on the state's highest court. This year, voters have a chance to put some balance back into a court that's all too often sided with government over the voters.
Over the last few decades, we've seen the state Supreme Court dominated by gubernatorial appointees. Justices would retire months ahead of an election, the governor would appoint a replacement and attorneys wouldn't challenge them, afraid of the consequences should they land a case before the court.
This year, however, five Supreme Court positions are on the ballot; all are contested. And electing justices who will uphold the "will of the people" may just make the difference in where Washington state is headed.
Three of the candidates are gubernatorial appointees.
Melody vs. Edwards
Let's take a look at the races and the candidates.
In the race for Justice Position No. 1, Colleen Melody is the incumbent, having been appointed by Gov. Bob Ferguson less than a year ago.
She claims to be for keeping courts free of special interest and political influence. Ironically, she's on the Supreme Court exactly because of special interests and political influence.
She was a civil rights attorney and a former clerk for a justice on the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, perhaps the most liberal court in the nation. And she's received multiple awards from immigration groups like the County on American-Islamic Relations, the Latino Bar Associations and the American Immigration Lawyers Association.
Most recently, Melody was one of the justices signing the majority opinion too strike down the 2024 natural gas initiative as unconstitutional – meaning government still gets to decide how you can heat your home.
Need I say more.
Her challenger, Scott Edwards would bring a refreshing change to the court.
Rather than being backed by special interest groups and benefiting from the governor's coat tails, Edwards is a tax and constitutional attorney, having taken up the cause of taxpayers involved in court proceedings initiated by the state Department of Revenue.
Edwards has said he supports the Culliton v. Chase ruling, meaning he agrees that your income is your property and therefore cannot be taken by a state income tax.
He appears to be more of a textualist, suggesting he's more likely to support the constitution and laws as written, rather than trying to re-interpret their meanings.
Given his background and record, Edwards would be the better justice – better for taxpayers, better for the state and better for our constitution.
My vote is for Edwards.
Angelis vs. Larson
Another easy endorsement for me is in the Justice Position No. 5 race, where incumbent Theo Angelis is being challenged by Dave Larson.
You guessed it, Angelis is another of Gov. Ferguson's appointees, who also rejected the effort to restore residents' ability to heat homes with natural gas.
Angelis, too, says he's in favor of judicial independence without special interest or political influence. Yet, he's been the beneficiary of both and is backed by Gov. Ferguson, former Gov. Christine Gregoire and the Democratic party, not to mention the Washington Education Association teacher union. That's a lot of Democrats behind a candidate for a non-political position.
He, too, rejected the effort to restore residents' ability to have houses heated by natural gas.
When it comes to the taxes, Angelis supported the capital gains tax in a ruling earlier this year and last month he voted to try to keep the economic impact statement off the ballot for Initiative 645.
In his previous legal life, Angelis was an attorney in Seattle who took up immigration causes all too often.
Beginning to see a pattern here.
His challenger, Larson, is the most experienced candidate in this race. He's served as a judge 18 years in lower courts and 23 years as a trial attorney.
Larson is one of very few legal professionals in the state to publicly call out the courts for the political cronyism going on.
Just two years ago, he voiced concern that of the 207 judges on the superior, appellate and supreme courts, 172 had been appointed by former Gov. Jay Inslee.
To address the cronyism and political influence, he has proposed creating a Judicial Elections Commission to look at merit-based appointments to vacant judicial seats.
Like Scott, Larson's background paints him as more of a textualist who will make decisions based on how the state Constitution and laws are written, rather than re-interpreting them in our contentious political climate.
Given his background and push to revamp how justices are appointed, Larson is clearly the better candidate in the race.
Stephens vs. Bloom
In the race for Justice Position No. 7, incumbent Chief Justice Debra L. Stephens is being challenged by Todd A. Bloom.
Stephens is another gubernatorial appointee, having served on the state Supreme Court since being appointed in 2008 by former Gov. Christine Gregoire.
A Spokane native, she has a lot going for her. She's the first woman from Eastern Washington on the Supreme Court, she's been an adjunct professor at Gonzaga and she has appellate court bench experience.
Stephens is considered a more "moderate" left-leaning judge. But if you look at her record on the Supreme Court, you'll see she's backed making it easier to for judges to dismiss criminal cases and agreed the state's former drug possession laws were constitutional.
She also agreed with the liberal court majority on the state capital gains tax and wrote the majority opinion in striking down the attempt to restore access to natural gas for home heating systems, writing the effort was "unconstitutional in its entirety."
Challenger Bloom sees things differently.
He has challenged the new state income tax, based on his 20-plus years as a tax attorney, a certified public accountant and a financial planner.
A Navy veteran, Bloom is also a textualist, and will likely base his decisions on how laws and the constitution are written.
While Stephens has been the most balanced voice on the state Supreme Court in recent years, it's not enough.After 18 years court, it's time for a change.
Bloom's election would certainly push the court closer to the center.
Open seats
There are two races between candidates seeking to fill open seats.
David Stevens is facing Jaime Hawk in the Position No. 3 race and Sean O'Donnell is squaring off with Ian Birk in the Position No. 4 race.
While Hawk and Birk are not currently on the state Supreme Court, they are on the bench thanks to former Gov. Jay Inslee, who appointed Hawk to a King County Superior Court seat and Birk to the state Division 1 Court of Appeals.
Stevens, who was elected as a Mason County Superior Court judge, is on the record opposing the continuing court cronyism, noting gubernatorial appointments have become "tradition," noting "direct appointment leads to ideological and political decisions.
A Navy veteran, Stevens is clearly the better choice.
Unfortunately for voters, the choice between O'Donnell and Birk isn't as simple.
While O'Donnell isn't the appointee that Birk is, he does have the support of politicians like Gregooire and state Lands Commissioner Dave Upthegrove.
Still his support from the Washington Farm Bureau and Washington Council of Polices and Sheriff's shouldn't be overlooked, and neither should his experience as a trial judge and prosecuting attorney.
Birk brings statewide judicial experience, but also support from more extreme-left politicians like Rep. Pramila Jayapal.
In weighing this race, O'Donnell's Superior Court experience has likely kept him closer to the electorate, making him a slightly better choice for voters who want to see our courts – and by extension the state – change.
- Roger Harnack is the owner of Free Press Publishing. Email him at roger@cheneyfreepress.com.
Roger Harnack is the owner/publisher of Free Press Publishing. Having grown up Benton City, Roger is an award-winning journalist, photographer, editor and publisher. He's one of only two editorial/commentary writers from Washington state to ever receive the international Golden Quill. Roger is dedicated to the preservation of local media, and the voice it retains for Eastern Washington.
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