Vancouver Columbian

Endorsements

In Our View: Judging the Judges

Stephen Johnson, Alexander, Chambers for high court;
Penoyar for appeals

Friday, September 1, 2006 — Three state Supreme Court races and one state Court of Appeals contest are on ballots arriving in the mail this week. While voters in the primary may vote for either Republican or Democratic candidates (but not some of each), they may also vote in nonpartisan judicial races. If a candidate for judge gets more than 50 percent of the votes in that race, he or she will appear on the November ballot without an opponent. Here are our recommendations:

State Supreme Court, Position 2: This is the headline race because of the number of candidates (five) and the money that has been poured into it by interest groups. Only two of the five are worthy contenders, veteran state Sen. Stephen Johnson who represents the Kent-Auburn area in the Legislature and who is on the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Susan Owens, a first-term incumbent on the high court. Stephen Johnson is The Columbian's choice.

Remember the "Stephen," because there's also a Michael Johnson in the race, plus a Charles Johnson and a Jim Johnson already on the court.

We like Stephen Johnson's intellect, temperament, non-activist view of a justice's role, his superior (to Owens') views that government records should be public, his reputation for working well with legislators from both parties and the high regard for him by folks who ought to know. The King County Bar Association rates Stephen Johnson "Well Qualified," but rates Owens a notch lower, at "Qualified." Stephen Johnson, a Republican, also was one of two honored as Outstanding Elected Official for 2005 by the state bar association. We are a bit leery of the support for him by the Building Industry Association of Washington, which is often on the wrong side of environmental issues. But after interviewing Stephen Johnson and studying his record, we're convinced he would be an independent, intellectually honest member of the state Supreme Court.

State Supreme Court, Position 8: This should be no contest. The veteran, widely respected Chief Justice Gerry Alexander, rated "Exceptionally Well Qualified" by the King County Bar Association, deserves re-election over John Groen, a lawyer and champion of property rights who is rated two notches lower at "Qualified."

Thanks chiefly to land developers, Groen has raised far more than Alexander. Groen is the only Supreme Court candidate who accepted large donations (as high as $25,000) before a new law took effect in June limiting contributions in judicial races to $1,400 per election. Alexander and the other candidates observed the law before it took effect. Not Groen.

State Supreme Court, Position 9: Incumbent Justice Tom Chambers is clearly the superior candidate to Jeanette Burrage, who has been rated "Not Qualified" by the King County Bar Association in several earlier, losing campaigns.

State Court of Appeals: We favor Joel Penoyar, a former county judge in South Bend who has served on this post since he was appointed a year ago by Gov. Chris Gregoire to fill a vacancy. He is challenged by Brent Boger, assistant Vancouver city attorney and chairman of the Clark County Republican Party for more than three years until last winter.

Penoyar, a low-key, affable man who's a good listener, seems more inclined to see shades of gray while Boger is more inclined to view things as black or white. Penoyar has the backing of most Southwest Washington county sheriffs and prosecutors plus several county and state judges.

Boger's partisan history is no plus for a judge, but he raises valid concerns about Penoyar's rate of reversals by higher courts when Penoyar was a county trial judge. That would be of greater concern if Penoyar were still in that job and didn't have a year's experience on the appeals court. Boger is bright and has argued cases before appeals courts, but has not been a judge. We see no reason to remove Penoyar.

Endorsements, ratings, biographies and more about judicial races in Washington are available on a new nonpartisan Web page: www.votingforjudges.org

VotingforJudges.org, P.O. Box 1460, Silverdale, WA  98383
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