EVERETT — Local attorneys didn’t expect anyone to challenge longtime Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Thomas Wynne for his seat.
Wynne is the most senior jurist on the bench with 24 years of experience. He made it known he was going to seek re-election even though he’d be forced off the bench mid-term because of age limits.
Several lawyers quietly made plans to apply for the appointment once he retired, and Wynne was the only candidate in the race up until the last day of filing. Then public defender Kevin McCabe jumped in. That set in motion the only contested judicial race on the ballot heading into the Aug. 2 primary.
Three more candidates quickly joined the fray. Wynne, 73, opted to withdraw from the race. The state Constitution would have forced him to leave office at the end of 2018, the year he turns 75. He didn’t want to spend the time or money on a campaign, he told The Herald in May.
Wynne threw his support to his former law clerk Cindy Larsen. Rounding out the race are campaign veterans Rico Tessandore and Scott Richard Peterson, who both ran for judge in 2009.
The top two candidates will move to the Nov. 8 General Election. The four-year non-partisan position will pay $165,870.
Cindy Larsen
Larsen, 46, has been with the Snohomish County Prosecutor’s Office since 1997. She has worked in the criminal division, prosecuting felonies and misdemeanors. She was the lead prosecutor in the county’s juvenile court.
Larsen, of Everett, also spent time in the civil division, providing legal counsel to the county in municipal matters, including employment and public disclosure laws. She also represented the county’s designated mental health providers during involuntary treatment cases.
Since filing for office in May, Larsen has worked as a pro tem judge in Marysville and Monroe Municipal courts.
She said her vast trial experience gives her the edge over the other candidates.
“I think it’s important to have people on the bench who protect victims’ and defendants’ rights,” Larsen said. “I think I have the balance of legal experience to make a good judge.”
She’d like to see the expansion of the county’s current mental health court, and she would advocate for a similar program in Superior Court.
Larsen also said she’s looking forward to serving in juvenile court if she’s elected.
“That’s one of the reasons I want to become a judge. I want to make a difference in the lives of juveniles, intervening and having a real impact on their future,” Larsen said.
She is endorsed by the majority of the current Superior Court judges. Larsen, who is married to a Snohomish County sheriff’s deputy, also is endorsed by several police officer unions and fellow prosecutors.
Kevin McCabe
McCabe, 56, has been a public defender in King County for 18 years. He currently is assigned to represent mentally ill clients in the Involuntary Treatment Act court. He’s also been a supervisor in King County and Seattle Municipal mental health courts.
McCabe said he was motivated to run after serving as a delegate for the Bernie Sanders presidential campaign. He is concerned about the erosion of personal liberties. Along with his extensive trial experience, McCabe said he’ll bring much-needed balance to the bench.
The majority of the seated Superior Court judges have worked as prosecutors in their careers, he said.
“There’s nothing wrong with being a prosecutor, just like there’s nothing wrong with being a public defender, but balance is important,” McCabe said.
The courts ask jurors in criminal cases to give the average witness the same credibility as a police officer on the stand. Yet, too often judges side with police officers and prosecutors, McCabe said.
“I can offer impartiality,” he said. “If what (voters) want is business as usual, they’ll choose the other candidates. If they want change, they should choose me.”
McCabe, of Mukilteo, said judges often rule against criminal defendants in favor of the state because they are worried about getting re-elected.
“The biggest problem with judicial elections is careerism,” McCabe said, adding that he wouldn’t plan to serve more than two terms.
McCabe is endorsed by the International Longshore and Warehouse Union 32 and the Washington State Farm Bureau.
Scott Richard Peterson
Peterson, 59, has been licensed to practice law since 1993. He said most recently he’s done contract work in Texas for USAA, a national financial services company that primarily serves military families.
Peterson, of Everett, said he’s also been a contract employee for the Department of Homeland Security and worked in disaster areas, including the East Coast after Hurricane Sandy. In the past, Peterson was a civil attorney in Everett, primarily in consumer protection law, with experience in the state Court of Appeals.
He is not currently employed.
He said he has the demeanor to be a fair judge who listens to all sides.
“I have concerns by the lack of respect shown to attorneys and litigants in matters,” Peterson said.
He cited an online site that allows anonymous comments about judges, saying the posters are lashing out against Snohomish County judges because they don’t feel like they have a voice.
“People want to be heard and treated with respect,” Peterson said.
He also said he’d advocate for more updated technology for the courts, including televised hearings.
In 2013, Peterson’s law license was suspended for 18 months following an investigation by the Washington State Bar Association. Peterson was accused of making a false statement in 2008 to a Snohomish County court commissioner. He said he’d delivered documents to another attorney when he had not.
Peterson recently said it was an oversight. The day he intended to serve the papers he’d learned a relative had died. He brought his error to the attention of opposing counsel and the commissioner, Peterson said.
As part of that same case Peterson filed a federal class action lawsuit against the lawyer, according to bar documents. The lawsuit was dismissed. Peterson filed a subsequent motion that the state court ruled as frivolous.
The bar concluded that Peterson violated professional standards in both instances. Peterson stipulated to the bar’s findings and the suspension.
“My lawyer told me I was overcharged,” he said. “He warned me it would be an emotionally-draining process,” to fight the allegations.
Peterson said he didn’t need his license at the time so he agreed to take the penalty.
“I think it makes me a stronger candidate,” Peterson said. “It puts me in the position of criminal defendants who on a daily basis are overcharged.”
Rico Tessandore
Tessandore, 44, runs a private practice with offices in Lynnwood and Bellingham. He routinely is appointed as a guardian ad litem to oversee settlements awarded to minors. Tessandore has worked as a pro tem judge in Superior, District and Municipal courts for 10 years.
Before he opened his own office, he worked for a Bellevue law firm providing in-house counsel for an insurance company. Tessandore, of Everett, said he also practiced criminal defense work for about a year. He was a Snohomish County deputy prosecutor from 2000 to 2005.
“I have worked in all areas of the court,” Tessandore said. “I have the necessary judicial experience to excel at the position from day one.”
His work on the Sno-Isle Board of Trustees also gives him budget and planning experience that will help carry the court forward, he said.
Tessandore said he would advocate re-examining the discovery rules in Superior Court. In Snohomish County, there are no local court rules that limit the amount of some types of discovery that can be requested by civil litigants.
“We are pricing the average citizen out of the court system,” Tessandore said.
Tessandore said as a judge he’d favor looking at what is working in other counties to make civil cases more affordable to litigants and more workable for lawyers.
Tessandore earned the highest rating in the Snohomish County Bar Association’s poll, followed by Larsen. The association counted 178 valid ballots out of the 623 lawyers who are eligible to vote.
Tessandore has endorsements from the majority of the Superior Court bench. He also is endorsed by several local Legislators and County Council members.
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