Dellwo May Leave House For Bench

Yet another Spokane lawmaker may leave the Legislature for the bench.

Rep. Dennis Dellwo said last week he is seeking appointment to a Superior Court seat in Spokane.

“I want to be a judge,” said Dellwo, a 12-year Democratic veteran of the Legislature and a partner with the Spokane law firm of Winston & Cashatt.

If he is appointed to the bench by Gov. Mike Lowry, Dellwo would be the second Spokane lawmaker this year to leave Olympia for the bench.

Last month, former Rep. Mike Padden was appointed by county commissioners to serve as a District Court judge.

Both men said serving in the Legislature is a privilege but also a sacrifice, particularly in terms of their family life.

Year after year, both Dellwo and Padden have brought their families - including school-age children - to Olympia during the session.

“It gets difficult, no doubt about it,” said Padden, a father of five who served more than 14 years in the Legislature. One of his babies was delivered in Olympia by Sen. John Moyer, R-Spokane.

“Moving every year, twice a year, and dealing with having somebody rent out the house in Spokane,” Padden said. “The family situation certainly is a major concern.”

Padden was able to leave on a high note. The November elections swept him and his GOP colleagues into the majority in the House, where he finally got to serve as chairman of the House Law and Justice Committee.

From his perch in the catbird seat, Padden brought bills to public hearings and the floor of the House that had been pushed aside for years by the Democrats, including a bill to require parents to be notified before their minor child has an abortion.

Padden said he has seen politics turn nastier as the years have gone by. “Some of the campaigns have became a negative, gotcha syndrome,” he said.

“I don’t know that it will continue - time will tell. It was so low it had to improve. But you also have to acknowledge the failures of public officials to communicate and respond. At times, public officials gave the posture that they didn’t really care to respond.”

Dellwo said he, too, is concerned by changes he has seen in politics.

“Instead of improving government, people want to punish it,” Dellwo said. “We’re moved to the sound bite we think will win an election, whether it’s ‘hug a thug’ or ‘hard on crime.’

“People (lawmakers) are casting their vote in terms of how they think it will be perceived by the public, not how it will be explained to the public. We aren’t talking about the real issues.”

Padden’s ascendancy this year was the mirror image of Dellwo’s fate: When the GOP took control of the House, Dellwo lost his chairmanship of the House Health Care Committee, where he had helped write a landmark health care reform bill.

The law itself is the subject of reform this session.

That hurts, Dellwo said. But serving in the Legislature is a high honor.

“I don’t want to sound too negative. There are lots of good legislators not involved in 30-second politics. But the things that are happening this year are so mean-spirited, it makes me sad.”

He criticized those within government who bash it. “Ours is the best system in the world. The alternatives are worse.”

If he doesn’t wind up on the bench, Dellwo said he would consider running for the Senate seat held by Moyer if Moyer decides not to run again next year. Moyer has not announced his plans.

An opening on the Superior Court bench could occur at any time.

Spokane Superior Court Judge Robert Whaley has been nominated by President Clinton to the U.S. District Court for Eastern Washington. His nomination has yet to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

Other openings on the court will be created as well: two sitting Superior Court judges have announced they will not run again next year. The court also has asked county commissioners to create another position to help manage rising caseloads.