A Snohomish County district court judge and two seasoned deputy prosecutors finished on top in a lawyers’ poll ranking candidates to replace a retired Superior Court judge.
Stephen Dwyer, 46, of Edmonds finished first in the Snohomish County Bar Association poll.
Already a judge in the south division of District Court, Dwyer earned the highest number of votes ranking him an “excellent” candidate, according to poll results released Jan. 6.
Meanwhile, deputy prosecutors Michael Downes, 51, and David Kurtz, 50, both of Everett, finished second and third. Downes’ score was 10 points behind Dwyer’s. Kurtz distinguished himself by earning the most combined “excellent” and “good” votes.
The candidates are vying for a post vacated by Judge Joseph Thibodeau, who spent 18 years on the Superior Court bench.
Word of Thibodeau’s retirement triggered a flurry of applications to Gov. Gary Locke. Whoever gets Locke’s nod would face an election in November.
Glenn Kuper, a spokesman for the governor, said Jan. 5 that Locke intends to fill the vacancy by the end of the month.
The bar association’s poll is advisory. Lawyers who practice in Snohomish County rated eight peers who submitted applications to the governor. Two others – Larry Johnson of Snohomish and former Evergreen District Court Judge Charles Meyer – apparently submitted applications after the deadline and were not included in the bar poll.
The lawyers ranked each candidate on a scale from “excellent” to “poor” to “unknown.” In addition, poll participants were asked to rank their top three candidates overall.
Other poll results included:
• Geoffrey Gibbs, 55, of Everett, a private practice attorney from Everett for 25 years, finished fourth.
• Jacalyn Brudvik, 50, of Everett, a Superior Court commissioner for five years, received the highest number of votes ranking her “average” or “poor.” She finished fifth.
• Richard Okrent, 47, of Mukilteo, finished sixth. He’s in private practice in Everett, primarily representing children, the indigent, victims of domestic violence and grandparents trying to protect children.
• Eric Lucas, 49, of Everett, an administrative appeals judge for the state Boards of the Environmental Hearings Office, and Peter Camp, 47, of Bothell, an assistant Everett attorney, were the least known of the applicants. They finished seventh and eighth, respectively.
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