Longview Daily News

Endorsements

• High court picks: Stephen Johnson, Gerry Alexander, Tom Chambers
• For appeals court judge, keep Penoyar

High court picks:
Stephen Johnson, Gerry Alexander, Tom Chambers

August 30, 2006 — The Sept. 19 primary election often amounts to a general election for candidates seeking seats on the state Supreme Court. Under Washington's election laws, a judicial candidate who gets more than 50 percent of the vote in the primary has his or her name appear alone on the general election ballot. If no candidate gets more than 50 percent of the vote, the top two vote-getters appear on the general election ballot.

This year, the primary election ballots mailed out today will decide two of three Supreme Court races; the incumbents in positions 8 and 9 on the state's high court each face a single challenger. In the other Supreme Court race, for Position 2, four candidates have filed against the incumbent.

Position 2: The crowded race for this seat will likely produce a general election run-off between the top two vote-getters. If so, one of them should be Stephen Johnson. The 66-year-old Republican state senator from Kent is the strongest candidate for the position now held by one-term Justice Susan Owens.

Until Seattle attorneys Michael Johnson and Richard Smith and Olympia administrative Judge Norman Ericson jumped into the race late, it looked as though Stephen Johnson would go head-to-head with Owens. Now, obviously, the water is somewhat muddied in this race. Voters will have to take care not to be confused by the number or similarity of names on the ballot.

Stephen Johnson is the candidate named outstanding elected official by the Washington State Bar Association in 2005. He's the candidate with more than 30 years experience practicing law. Stephen Johnson is the candidate endorsed by Republicans and Democrats alike, including state Sen. Mark Doumit, D-Cathlamet.

Position 8: Chief Justice Gerry Alexander is challenged in his bid for a third term on the state high court by Bellevue property rights attorney John Groen. Voters would do well to re-elect Alexander. In terms of judicial experience, he is by far the most qualified.

In addition to his 12 years on the Supreme Court, Alexander served 11 years as a Superior Court judge in Thurston and Mason counties and 10 years on the state Court of Appeals. Alexander has been elected to two four-year terms as chief justice by his colleagues on the Supreme Court, making him the longest serving chief justice in state history. Alexander's opponent makes the point that the mandatory retirement age of 75 would force the chief justice to retire five years into the six-year term, should he be re-elected. Voters shouldn't care. This is about putting ablest candidate on the high court, and that candidate is Gerry Alexander.

Position 9: Justice Tom Chambers, whose is seeking a second six-year term on the Supreme Court, is challenged by Jeanette Burrage, who served five years as a King County Superior Court judge before losing a re-election bid. On the strength of experience and temperament, Chambers merits another term on the high court.

During three decades of private practice, Chambers argued many cases before the state Court of Appeals and the Washington Supreme Court. The many opinions he's written since joining the Supreme Court in 2001 demonstrate a thoughtful, balanced and informed approach to cases.

We urge voters to keep Justice Chambers on the state Supreme Court.

For appeals court judge, keep Penoyar

Voters in Cowlitz, Wahkiakum, Pacific, Lewis and Skamania counties will decide a contested race for the state Court of Appeals, Division II, in the Sept. 19 primary election. Judge Joel Penoyar, who was appointed to the appeals court a year ago, has drawn a challenge from Brent Boger, an assistant city attorney for Vancouver.

The Daily News urges voters to retain Judge Penoyar.

Penoyar -- unlike Boger, who recently served as chairman of the Clark County Republican Party -- appears to have few, if any, partisan loyalties. Penoyar, a former Superior Court judge for Pacific and Wahkiakum counties, flatly states that he's "never been involved in politics." He pointed out during an editorial board meeting at The Daily News that he'd never even met Gov. Chris Gregoire before she elevated him to the Court of Appeals. We view an absence of partisan involvement as an attribute for someone seeking this nonpartisan office.

We also liked Penoyar's response when asked about his judicial philosophy. He said he didn't much care for legal philosophizing. "I'm sitting there on the Court of Appeals," Penoyar said. I've got the state and federal supreme courts above me, and I'm going to do exactly what they say. I'm not going to go back and rethink what their interpretation of the Constitution was. I want to find out what they said the rule was and follow it."

Penoyar has been a respected judge in Southwest Washington for almost three decades. He's earned the respect of his colleagues in the short time he's served on the Court of Appeals. Voters would do well to send Judge Penoyar back for a full-term.

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