Everett appoints Remy Leonard to municipal court bench

Published 1:47 pm Thursday, June 2, 2022

EVERETT — Remy Leonard, a former deputy prosecutor and longtime judge pro tem across Snohomish County, is to join the Everett Municipal Court bench in July.

The Everett City Council confirmed her appointment by Mayor Cassie Franklin in a 5-0 vote Wednesday.

“Remy has a tremendous combination of education, training, experience, and is just born and raised to serve this community,” Franklin said. “She has the necessary balance of the knowledge and skillset but also commitment and compassion for those that she serves.”

About a dozen people applied to fill out Judge Laura Van Slyck’s position, Franklin said. Van Slyck, the court’s first woman to serve as judge, will retire June 30.

Leonard, the daughter of former mayor Ray Stephanson, was born and raised in Everett. She graduated from Washington State University with a bachelor’s degree in political science and from the University of Oregon law school with a juris doctor degree.

She has served as a judge pro tem in Bothell, Edmonds, Marysville and Monroe municipal courts, as well as Snohomish County District Court since 2013. She has been a part-time associate judge in Tulalip Tribal Court since 2016.

Van Slyck inspired her to pursue a career in trial advocacy and as a prosecutor during a law school internship with the city decades ago.

“It’s her fault that I ended up in these shoes,” Leonard said. “It really is a dream come true for me. I chose you just as much as you chose me. … I’m so humbled and honored to serve as Everett Municipal Court judge. Most of you hopefully will not see me in court because if you do that means that you’re speeding and you shouldn’t.”

Leonard will join Judge Amy Kaestner on the Everett Municipal Court bench. Her position will be up for election next year. The full-time judges make $190,120 annually.

Ben Watanabe: 425-339-3037; bwatanabe@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @benwatanabe.