Supreme Court Justice Susan Owens apparently earned a second six-year term Tuesday by defeating a state legislator by a substantial margin, according to early returns.
Owens said she’s confident of a win after posting strong leads throughout the state. She’s ahead of her opponent, state Sen. Stephen Johnson, R-Kent.
“It’s been a tough race. I came in on a (Republican) wave in 1994 and I went out on a (Democratic) wave in 2006,” said Johnson. He admitted he doesn’t have much chance and will probably concede later in the week.
Although it’s a nonpartisan race, Johnson said his Republican background and a lot of Democratic support for Owens made it appear to voters to be a partisan race.
Owens said a strong work ethic means a lot, and voters saw that in her.
“I always thought if you do a good job and work hard, people will notice that,” Owens said. “And I have a different background that gave me valuable experience working with real people in the real world.”
She spent 25 years on the bench, some of it in tribal courts and as a District Court judge in rural Clallam County.
Owens took 46 percent of the vote among five candidates in the September primary. Johnson had nearly 35 percent of the vote.
Unlike the primary, special-interest groups were much less visible in the general election.
In the weeks leading up to the September primary, three special-interest groups spent nearly $2 million trying to unseat a sitting justice.
The effort to oust Chief Justice Gerry Alexander failed, but it came under the microscope of a national judicial watchdog group.
“From the standpoint of the citizens of Washington, they will remember the Supreme Court primary for the negative tones and the expensive cost,” said James Samples, spokesman for the Brennan Center for Justice associated with New York University.
“The race between Justice Owens and Sen. Johnson has been comparatively civil,” Samples said. “This race has been more of a traditional campaign for a seat on a state high court bench. It has focused more on matters of judicial philosophy and matters of qualifications.”
Johnson, 66, of Kent, is a lawyer and served on the Senate Judiciary Committee. He maintains that the court is too liberal and has dabbled in legislative matters.
Owens, 57, maintains the court has approached issues moderately, and the Johnson criticism focuses only on a handful of the hundreds of decisions issued annually.
Alexander and incumbent Supreme Court Justice Thomas Chambers officially won new terms Tuesday. Neither was opposed after beating opponents in the September primary.
Reporter Jim Haley: 425-339-3447 or haley@heraldnet.com.
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