August primary could determine key races

OLYMPIA – It’s only August, and yet there’s your official-looking ballot envelope and a fat voter pamphlet crowding your mailbox.

You set it aside, figuring you’ll get to it – or maybe not. After all, it’s November’s election that really counts, right?

Actually, the primary counts more than you might think. For some key spots, the Aug. 19 primary essentially is the election.

The schools chief who oversees a system that educates a million children, for example, could be decided in August. So could two slots on the state’s highest court.

“These are critical positions,” said David Ammons, a spokesman for Secretary of State Sam Reed. Reed, the state’s top elections official, predicts only about 40 percent voter turnout in August. That’s about half what he’s expecting in November.

One race that will be decided in August is a face-off between two Gonzaga Law graduates.

First-term state Supreme Court Justice Mary Fairhurst, who has decided more than 600 cases in her six years on the bench, is running for re-election with support from environmental groups, labor unions and teachers.

She’s being challenged by Mercer Island attorney Michael J. Bond, who is critical of Fairhurst’s rulings, particularly on political speech and property rights.

The winner of the primary essentially wins the job, because if a nonpartisan official gets more than 50 percent of the votes in August, that person’s name is the only one voters will see in the fall.

“They’re as good as elected,” said Ammons.

Even in partisan races – which means most of them – the August primary will decide the fates of many candidates.

There are 10 people running for governor, five for lieutenant governor, and as many as seven people running for some state lawmaker seats. After the primary, only two people will be standing in each of those races. The state’s new top-two primary means that minor-party candidates, such as Greens and Libertarians, are no longer guaranteed spots on the fall ballot.

“For people who just tune in in November, they’re losing an opportunity to have their voices heard,” Ammons said.

That fact is not lost on the state Libertarian Party, which is unhappy with the top-two primary. So are Democrats and Republicans, but small third parties arguably lost the most under the new system.

“Any top-two system means that the third guy sits out, and that’s a problem for us,” said Richard Shepard, the Libertarian Party’s attorney. Although it seems unlikely now that a judge would derail the Aug. 19 primary, the parties continue to hint at a post-election legal challenge.

The other major races that could be decided in August:

Superintendent of public instruction

Getting 50 percent in this race probably is a long shot, given that a half-dozen candidates are running. But incumbent Terry Bergeson has strong name recognition, and some of those in the running are clearly fringe candidates. Those running include:

•Bergeson, a former teacher seeking a fourth four-year term, has drawn fire from some teachers and parents over her push for educational accountability, particularly the controversial Washington Assessment of Student Learning test.

•Randy Dorn: Bergeson’s strongest challenger, Dorn heads a state school-employees union and is backed by the state teachers union. A former lawmaker, Dorn says he can forge a union between the state and schools to better fund education. He also wants to replace the WASL with a more streamlined testing plan.

•John Patterson Blair: A former teacher, Blair came in a distant third in the race four years ago. He advocates broader school choices for parents, with portable $9,000 state vouchers each student could take to the (non-religious) school of his or her choice.

•Don Hansler: Another retired teacher and former candidate, Hansler wants bonuses for good teachers, better funding and a two-tiered diploma system for students bound for college and those who aren’t.

•Enid Duncan: CEO of a small company, Duncan vows to “free us from the WASL obsession” with a better assessment system for students and teachers.

•David Blomstrom: Hoping that his third run for the office will be the charm, Blomstrom is running on a platform targeting “corporate corruption” of education. He’s modeling his campaign on those of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. “Viva Chavez!” Blomstrom says in the state voter pamphlet. “No, I haven’t lost my mind – just my profession (teaching) and students.”

Supreme Court

In addition to the Fairhurst-Bond race, one other Supreme Court race could be decided in the primary:

•Justice Charles Johnson , the longtime incumbent, touts his record of rulings on privacy rights and government accountability, including support for open records.

•C.F. (Frank) Vulliet: A semi-retired lawyer, Vulliet suggests that the court is wrongly rewriting the facts of cases it rules on and that it should be hearing more cases.

“The number of cases decided by the Supreme Court today is far lower than in the past when there were only seven justices with less staff and without the advantages of computer research and word processing,” he said.

•James Beecher: A Lewis and Clark High School graduate, Beecher is a longtime trial and appellate lawyer. He argues that after 18 years on the court, Johnson should be replaced by someone with “a broader and more current knowledge of actual litigation practices.” He also wants to streamline inefficient court rules.

Locally, a couple of races will be decided Aug. 19:

•The Division III Court of Appeals race between incumbent Kevin Korsmo and challenger Harvey Dunham.

•The Spokane County Superior Court Position 10 race between incumbent Linda G. Tompkins and challenger David Stevens.

A third local race could also be over in the primary if one of three challengers for an open seat gets more than 50 percent of the vote. Mark Vovos, Annette Plese and Greg Weber are vying for the Spokane County Superior Court Position 1 seat being vacated by retiring Judge Robert Austin.