Ousted at polls, judge says return is possible

The boxes and keepsakes on the table signal David Hulbert’s move out of the chambers he’s occupied for 12 years.

Even the massive houseplant will be gone. It was a small plant given to him when Hulbert first took the office in early 1993 after his election to the Snohomish County Superior Court. It now occupies most of one wall by the windows.

Judge Hulbert, his belongings and his plant will be out of his Department 5 office by today and another judge is scheduled to move in. He remains on the payroll until Jan. 9 when his last four-year term ends.

It wasn’t his choice to leave.

Hulbert, 53, tasted defeat in September at the hands of Eric Lucas, a state administrative appeals judge who won a solid victory. It was the first time in decades that a sitting, established judge in Snohomish County has lost his job at the polls.

The Lake Stevens resident isn’t retiring, and he may someday make another run at judgeship. At the very least, he said he will become active in politics.

He blames himself, to a great degree, for the election loss.

When the Snohomish County voter pamphlet came out, the space reserved for Hulbert was blank. He didn’t submit a statement or a photograph. Lucas’ statement and photo were there.

It was a classic error, especially in a low-profile judicial race where many voters rely on the pamphlet for guidance.

The judge said he had been under the impression that there wouldn’t be a local voter pamphlet, and he failed to see information to the contrary.

“It was a classic mistake. It was a bonehead mistake,” he said.

An admitted conservative, Hulbert also blames Democrats for ganging up on him during the election.

In the long term, Hulbert believes one or more of the current Superior Court judges will be stepping down within four years, and he hasn’t ruled out running again for judge or some other political office.

At least in the short term, Hulbert will set up shop somewhere in Everett to do mediation and arbitration work, a job that saves the courts time and clients money by solving civil disputes short of trials.

He has no regrets about his tenure as judge.

“I think I was an important part of that mix. I think I provided an important balance to the overall mix of judicial philosophies,” he said.

Hulbert said he’s aware of a perception by some that he’s lazy. That’s flat wrong, he said. Hulbert said he likes to work, and he works hard.

“I think that opinion formed a long time ago,” Hulbert said. He claims to have a legitimate reputation to decide cases quickly, rather than letting litigants linger.

Hulbert said he’d stack his record of reversals by appeals courts against any of the judges.

Hulbert doesn’t want to leave the job, but he admits that Lucas campaigned better in the September election. For that reason, Lucas deserves a chance to show his stuff. Hulbert is a firm believer in judges being elected, not appointed. Elections hold judicial officers accountable to the public, he said.

Sometimes, however, judicial races become partisan, he said, and this was one of them.

Reporter Jim Haley: 425-339-3447 or haley@heraldnet.com.

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