Brown appointment creates another vacancy

The process of filling Judge Stephen Brown’s now-vacant seat in District Court will begin on Monday, according to the District Court’s office.

Brown was appointed on Wednesday by Gov. Jay Inslee to replace Gordon Godfrey in Grays Harbor Superior Court. Godfrey retired after 22 years on the bench. Brown was chosed over Elma attorney Jean Cotton and Olympia lawyer Karen Kay, who grew up in Aberdeen.

Brown will resign on Monday and start his term in Superior Court, his office said. According to the Revised Code of Washington, if a district court judge resigns, his or her position will be filled at the discretion of legislative members of the county for which the judge served.

County Commissioners Wes Cormier, Frank Gordon and Herb Welch will be responsible to appoint a new judge who will hold office until the next general election. According to the Commissioners’ Office, it has not yet been determined what the process of finding a new District Court judge will look like.

Since judge seats are non-partisan positions, the county’s political parties will have no part in the selection process. For partisan positions, the party of the official who is leaving would submit a list of names to the commissioners for them to chose from for the appointment. Brown and Tom Copland, the county’s other District Court judge, were both running unopposed this fall.

Brown said Wednesday that he looks forward to filling the Superior Court vacancy and believes his experience in District Court will serve him well in his new position. Brown has been a District Court judge since 1987.