Members of a women’s lawyer group have indicated their preferences for an upcoming vacant judge seat, rating 10 candidates from well qualified to not qualified.
The governor next month is expected to pick one of the applicants to replace Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Joseph Thibodeau, who retires Jan. 5.
All members of the Snohomish County Bar Association have been invited to participate in a larger poll, which will be completed in early January.
Senior deputy prosecutor Michael Downes and South District Court Judge Steve Dwyer rated "well qualified" marks by the Snohomish County chapter of the Washington Women Lawyers, the organization said Wednesday.
The rating followed a judicial forum the group sponsored last week.
Those rated "qualified" include deputy prosecutor Dave Kurtz, administrative law judge Eric Lucas and Everett lawyer Richard Okrent.
Three others earned "not qualified" ratings, including court commissioner Jacalyn Brudvik, former Evergreen District Court Judge Charles Meyer and Everett lawyer Geoff Gibbs.
An equal number of voters said Everett assistant city attorney Peter Camp was either qualified or "unknown." One more candidate, Larry Johnston, was rated unknown.
Neither this vote nor the county bar poll will result in a final determination. The governor will make the appointment after candidate interviews and taking the polls into consideration. Whoever gets the governor’s nod will have to run for election in the fall.
Thibodeau spent 18 years on the county bench after working as a court commissioner for the state Court of Appeals in Seattle.
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