Damon Shadid

Seattle Municipal Court

Position Seven

Education: No information submitted

Occupation: No information submitted

Statement: Seattle is a great city. The people of Seattle deserve to have dedicated, hard-working, exceptional public officials who understand that they are elected to serve the people.

For the past 15 years, I have worked as a criminal defense and immigration lawyer providing legal services to our most vulnerable residents. For the past 5 years, I have also worked as a judge pro tem serving district and municipal courts. Through my work in the community, I have developed strong relationships with the City’s many diverse cultures. We all have a stake in improving public safety, and I plan to use those relationships to create trust and confidence in our judiciary. “Justice for all” should be more than a slogan.

My opponent has said that judges “must be held accountable.” However, over the past decade, my opponent has consistently been rated one of the worst performing judges in King County. He has a documented history of working only part-time while collecting a full-time salary, and he has failed in his duty to collaborate with his fellow judges in recent years by missing nearly all of the mandatory judges meetings. In 2012, his fellow judges removed him from his position as Presiding Judge. It’s time for a change. Seattle needs judges working full-time and providing leadership to solve the problems that plague our criminal justice system.

I have been rated “Exceptionally Well Qualified” by the King County Bar Association, the Latina/o and Loren Miller Bar Associations, and the Cardozo Society. While I am proud of my Lebanese heritage, diversity on the bench must be coupled with excellence, hard work, and integrity. If elected, I will give Seattle all of those things—every day.

Selected Endorsements: City Council Members: Sally Bagshaw, Tim Burgess, Sally Clark, Jean Godden, Nick Licata, Mike O’Brien. County Council Members: Rod Dembowski, Joe McDermott, Dave Upthegrove. Law Enforcement: Sheriff John Urquhart, Former U.S. Attorney Kate Pflaumer, Washington Council of Police & Sheriffs. Community Leaders: Pramila Jayapal, Estela Ortega, Gerald Hankerson, Kris Hermanns. Labor: Machinists Lodge 751, Carpenters Local 30, ATU 587, SEIU 775NW, MLKC Labor Council. Democratic Party: King County Democrats and Young Democrats, 11th, 34th, 37th, 46th Democratic LDs. Other Elected Leaders: Senate Leader Sharon Nelson (34th LD), Sen. David Frockt (46th LD), Rep. Brady Walkinshaw (43rd LD), State Treasurer Jim McIntire.

And hundreds more community leaders, attorneys, elected officials and others. Complete endorsement list at: www.shadidforseattle.com.

ORGANIZATION	FRED BONNER	DAMON SHADID
Cardozo Society	*	Exceptionally Well Qualified
King County Bar Association	Refused to Cooperate	Exceptionally Well Qualified
Joint Asian Judicial Evaluations Committee	*	Well Qualified
Latina/o Bar Association of Washington	*	Exceptionally Well Qualified
Loren Miller Bar Association	*	Exceptionally Well Qualified
QLaw: The GLBT Bar Association of Washington	*	Well Qualified
Washington Women Lawyers	*	Exceptionally Well Qualified

Important note! Each of these organizations uses its own standards and rating terms when evaluating candidates; please check their pages for further information. We do not have ratings for candidates with an asterisk (*), and the reasons vary. Some evaluations may still be in process, or we might not have received them yet; some candidates may not have been offered an opportunity to participate, or they may have declined to participate.

General Election: November 4, 2014

Seattle Municipal Court

Position Seven