Bellevue Attorney Leads Pekelis In Race For Supreme Court Seat

Bellevue attorney and property rights advocate Richard Sanders held a strong lead Tuesday night in his bid to unseat appointed Supreme Court Justice Rosselle Pekelis.

A Sanders victory would be the first time a high court justice has been unseated since Charles Johnson defeated then-Chief Justice Keith Callow in 1990.

Meanwhile, voters approved a constitutional amendment to allow Supreme Court justices to pick their chief justice, rather than basing the post on seniority.

The amendment removes the constitution’s requirement that assigns the court’s top slot to one of three justices with two years remaining on their six-year terms. Instead, justices will choose one of their number to serve as chief for four years.

Sanders and Pekelis ran for the remaining three years of the term of former Justice Bob Utter, who resigned earlier this year, saying he could not participate in a legal system that sanctions the death penalty.

Pekelis, 57, was appointed by Gov. Mike Lowry. She had served nine years on the Seattle division of the state Court of Appeals and before that was a King County Superior Court judge.

Sanders, 50, has been in private practice for 26 years and has more than 60 published opinions for the appeals court, for which he served as principal attorney.