Grays Harbor District Court Judge Stephen Brown is the overwhelming favorite among Grays Harbor County Bar Association members to succeed Gordon Godfrey as a Superior Court judge.
The Bar Association sent ballots to its members last month and found that the majority preferred Brown over Elma attorney Jean Cotton, who is also seeking the appointment. An overwhelming number of members also found Brown more qualified compared to Cotton.
The results will be forwarded to Gov. Jay Inslee, who is in the midst of the application process to see who will take over for Godfrey, who retires Oct. 1.
“I really appreciate the vote of confidence, but this is just one factor that the governor will take into account in the process,” Brown said, adding that the governor’s general counsel is expected to do an interview in a week or so and the current judges will also be consulted for their opinions. There’s also the interview with Inslee himself. Brown said he’s also been interviewed by three bar associations from across the state, which will also issue opinions to the governor.
The ballot allowed local attorneys to give their preference for judge and also decide whether Brown or Cotton was qualified or “not qualified” to be a Superior Court judge.
Out of at least 61 attorneys, 39 said that Brown was their preference, compared to 21 for Cotton. There was also one write-in for an attorney in private practice, who is not seeking the position.
Fifty of the attorneys labeled Brown as “qualified” and eight as “not qualified” while 31 said Cotton was “qualified” and 20 said she was “not qualified.” At least nine candidates did not respond to whether Cotton was or was not qualified and at least two did not respond to whether Brown was qualified.
“Some people chose not to answer one portion of the ballot and some people said they were both qualified or said both were not qualified,” said Grays Harbor Bar Association President Zachary Edwards.
Cotton, who also serves as a Superior Court judge pro tem, said Tuesday in an email, “I trust that Governor Inslee will find, based on my experience and service on the Grays Harbor County bench over the last two decades, that I am eminently qualified for the position of Superior Court judge and that he will make his decision accordingly.”
In 2007, Bar Association members favored David Edwards over Cotton, who also sought the appointment. Edwards received the appointment from Gov. Chris Gregoire to Grays Harbor Superior Court and won his successive elections.
If Brown is appointed, then it will be up to the county commissioners to appoint his replacement on the District Court bench.
Meantime, a third candidate has emerged for the position and notified Inslee that she wishes to seek the appointment. But her announcement came too late to end up on the ballot for the local bar association, Zachary Edwards said.
Karen Kay, who grew up in Aberdeen, is a senior litigator for the Law Office of Harold D. Carr in Olympia.
“I had reached a point in my career that I was looking at switching fields and the judicial avenue is something I’ve wanted to pursue my whole life,” Kay said. “It was just a confluence of factors that turned out to be fortunate in their timing. This position came open and I decided to apply for it. In addition to looking forward to the experience, I think my background, combined with my job perspective would offer a unique perspective.”
Kay says she’s already joined the pro-tem program at Thurston County District Court to gain some experience.
She says if she is appointed, she would move back to the Harbor. She graduated from Aberdeen High School in 1998 and from the University of Puget Sound in 2002. She obtained her law degree from Seattle University in 2005, graduating cum laude.
She notes she had arbitrated four hearings in the past year before various Grays Harbor judges and has had frequent experiences working in the Grays Harbor courts.
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