Walla Walla Union-Bulletin

Endorsements

• General: Johnson gets nod in race for the state Supreme Court
• Primary: Alexander, Chambers easy picks for high court

Johnson gets nod in race for the state Supreme Court

Stephen Johnson exhibits a clear understanding of the law and a belief that as a justice he should not be establishing public policy.

By the Editorial Board of the Union-Bulletin

Tuesday, October 24, 2006 — In the race for the state Supreme Court, we are recommending voters toss out the incumbent, Justice Susan Owens, in favor of a state senator, Stephen Johnson, with no judicial experience.

We do so because Johnson exhibits a clear understanding of the law and a belief that as a justice he should not be establishing public policy.

Conversely, Owens has been unimpressive in her six years on the court, exhibiting a judicial philosophy that appears to be activist. And her words outside the courtroom would seem to back that up.

"The Legislature is really behind the times socially," she said during a recent interview with the Yakima Herald-Republic newspaper.

Whether the Legislature is behind the times, with the times or ahead of the times is irrelevant to Supreme Court justices. The job of a justice is to interpret that law and rule on its constitutionality and the legislative intent.

Nevertheless, politics is playing a role in the race for this nonpartisan position.

Johnson, a Republican, has an impressive array of endorsements - mostly from Republicans, including some colleagues from the Senate such as Dino Rossi and Walla Walla's Mike Hewitt. Johnson has support for his campaign from the building industry and business groups.

And a check of Owens' Web site show she had the backing of high-profile Democrats, including Gov. Chris Gregoire. She also has a lot of labor unions on her side.

Yet, Johnson makes it clear that judges should not bring their personal political philosophy with them to the bench.

Johnson does have a few Democrats in his corner - Lt. Gov. Brad Owen and Auditor Brian Sonntag.

Frankly, we would prefer the candidates for this top judicial post had far less political baggage and more bipartisan support.

That's not the case. So, we have to go by what the candidates have done and what they say they will do.

Owens' record as a high court justice is unimpressive. She came to the Supreme Court with 19 years of experience as a District Court judge in Clallam County and 11 years of service as a tribal court judge.

Johnson's work in the courtroom has been as a lawyer. He has also served three terms in the state Senate and served as the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee. Johnson seems to be well respected as a legislator.

The King County Bar Association rated Johnson "well qualified"' while Owens was rated "qualified."

It is our hope that Johnson will leave his politics outside of the Temple of Justice. His actions on the campaign trail give us every indication he will do just that.

We recommend Johnson for Supreme Court.

Alexander, Chambers easy picks for high court

The incumbent state Supreme Court Justices are by far the most qualified candidates and should be re-elected in the Sept. 16 election.

By the Editorial Board of the Union-Bulletin

Tuesday, September 5, 2006 — The Sept. 16 primary election is not what it seems - at least when it comes to two races for state Supreme Court. In those two races the winner will take office.

And it's for that reason we are offering our recommendations for those high court seats. Generally, we don't endorse candidates in the primary.

The decisions were easy. The incumbents are the clear choice.

Chief Justice Gerry Alexander and Justice Tom Chambers should be returned to the court.

Alexander has done a solid job on the court, which isn't surprising given his vast experience. Alexander has 33 years on the bench - from Superior Court to Court of Appeals to the state Supreme Court.

Alexander has offered reasoned opinions based on valid interpretations of the law.

Alexander's challenger, John Groen, a property-rights attorney from Western Washington, has no judicial experience. But what Groen does have is the hefty financial backing of the state's building industry, which gives him more cash in his campaign war chest than Alexander. That type of support by a special-interest group speaks for itself.

Alexander is the superior candidate. We recommend he be re-elected.

In the other race that will be decided Sept. 16, we also go to the candidate with the most - and the best - experience.

Chambers has done a solid job on the high court offering opinions using sound reasoning and careful interpretation of the law.

Chambers' challenger, Jeanette Burrage, has a spotty record. She has been rated "not qualified" five times by the King County Bar Association in previous, unsuccessful efforts to win a judicial seat. She, perhaps wisely, didn't seek an endorsement this time around.

Burrage has served one term in the state Legislature and one term as a King County Superior Court judge. As a judge she threatened to sanction female attorneys if they appeared in her courtroom wearing pantsuits.

Chambers is a well respect judge who is endorsed by many of his colleagues on the high court, several judges across the state, law enforcement officials and prosecutors.

Chambers has served the state well on the Supreme Court. We strongly urge voters to return him for a second term.

VotingforJudges.org, P.O. Box 1460, Silverdale, WA  98383
Write to [email protected] or fill out our form.

Votingforjudges.org includes ratings and endorsements from numerous organizations. We provide this information so that voters will be better informed about the candidates. We do not rate or endorse any candidates; the ratings and endorsements of organizations included at this site reflect the views of those individual organizations and not necessarily the views of votingforjudges.org or its sponsors.