While one judicial candidate is battling for name recognition, another is fending off questions about why some lawyers don’t want to appear in his courtroom.
That’s how the battle is shaping up for Snohomish County Superior Court judge Position 8, and there are allegations of political overtones in this nonpartisan race.
Three-term incumbent Dave Hulbert of Lake Stevens is seeking four more years on the bench, but he has competition from Eric Lucas of Everett, an administrative appeals judge for the Washington Environmental Hearings Office in Lacey.
Lucas’ problem showed up in a recent poll of county attorneys when 45 percent of the respondents said they knew little about him.
Hulbert is well-known in the community, but an unusual number of lawyers avoid his courtroom by filing affidavits of prejudice. There can be many reasons why lawyers file such affidavits.
According to county clerk records, Hulbert accumulated 135 affidavits of prejudice in 41/2-years, nearly as many as the total filed on all the other 13 judges on the bench.
In addition, the state attorney general’s office this spring served notice that it would file an affidavit against Hulbert in juvenile court in all child dependency cases – those hearings that result in services for parents and their children, or sometimes determining where children will live.
Hulbert had been scheduled to go to juvenile court next month, but the Superior Court rotation was changed because child dependency cases are about half the workload there.
Hulbert notes that an assistant attorney general involved in the decision has spoken up for his opponent.
“There is a partisan group in this county that wants to control every level of government from dog catcher to president and everything in between,” Hulbert said.
Hulbert has assembled a long list of local attorneys as supporters. His family has been in the county since the mid- 1850s. He labels Lucas an opportunist who doesn’t work in the county and won’t have to live with the political fallout of challenging a sitting judge.
“I’ve done it from soup to nuts. You can’t replace the experience I’ve gained over the last 12 years,” Hulbert said.
Lucas said politics has nothing to do with his campaign. He said he’s running because he believes in people getting a fair hearing.
“You can spin it any way you want, but an affidavit of prejudice means you can’t get a fair trial before” a judge, Lucas said.
Although he grew up in the county, Lucas’ career has included being a city administrator and city attorney in Island County and working out of the Lacey office. He said voters will be getting someone who is highly skilled if he’s chosen. He’s heard complicated environmental cases.
Lucas’ backers include attorneys, Gov. Gary Locke, County Executive Aaron Reardon and Everett Mayor Ray Stephanson.
He could have run against two new judges on the bench, but took on Hulbert instead.
“I’m challenging (Hulbert) because I don’t think he deserves to be there, and the quality of his work doesn’t rise to the level of the other judges,” Lucas said.
Hulbert responded: “I say balderdash. He has no idea what goes on in the courthouse.”
Reporter Jim Haley: 425-339-3447 or haley@heraldnet.com.
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