Superior Court judges rarely have opponents in Spokane County elections. This year’s ballot, however, contains two such races, each involving a sitting judge and one challenger.

Under Washington law, whoever gets a majority of the vote in the primary election will win, so voters who want a say in these two-way races need to vote on Sept. 14.

Sypolt vs. Elston

Greg Sypolt has been a Superior Court judge since 1996, but it would have been a year longer if then-Gov. Mike Lowry had followed the recommendations of Spokane County’s attorneys and judges.

Lowry passed over Sypolt in 1995 when he named Kenneth Kato to succeed a retiring judge. Sypolt had been the top-ranked candidate for the job in a local bar survey. Not surprisingly, he commands a long and impressively broad list of endorsements from area judges and lawyers in his current re-election bid.

More than 30 present and former judges — including Kato, now on the state Court of Appeals — are endorsing Sypolt. So are both Prosecuting Attorney Steve Tucker and Public Defender John Rodgers and lots of other lawyers. And nonlawyers.

Endorsements are significant in judicial races where the candidates are reluctant to talk about issues for fear of compromising their independence as impartial judicial officers. Which brings us to Michael Elston, his opponent.

As Sypolt was for 17 years before becoming a judge, Elston is an assistant public defender for Spokane County. He says he’s running to give voters an option; to advocate for uniform application of court rules, which he thinks are enforced inconsistently; and to create a better means of evaluating judges, based on factors including how well their decisions stand up on appeal and the number and type of any complaints lodged against them.

Elston is on to something.

Judicial races often mystify voters. Substantive issues are skirted in favor of talk about endorsements and one’s years and type of experience. Incumbents normally have to stumble badly before a challenger has a chance. Which is one reason why there are so few opponents.

But Elston is young and relatively inexperienced. He doesn’t contend that Sypolt is a bad judge. Rather, he picked this race because his background is similar to Sypolt’s.

Sypolt, meanwhile has been an active member of the bench, not just in his trial work but in a variety of organizational and administrative activities leading to more efficient management and greater sensitivity to diversity concerns within the judicial system.

Elston strikes us as a thoughtful and sincere young attorney with promise, but it was unrealistic to wage his first judicial race at the Superior Court level rather than a step down in District Court.

We may hear more from him in the future, but in this election he has offered no reason why voters should remove Sypolt from office. Sypolt, on the other hand, has demonstrated amply why they should retain him.

Cozza vs. Eugster

The Position 6 race for Superior Court pits incumbent Sam Cozza against former Spokane City Council member Steve Eugster.

Cozza was elected to Superior Court in 1996 after a six-year stint as a District Court judge. He is knowledgeable, fair-minded and has taken a leadership role as chairman of the statewide Criminal Law and Rules Committee.

Cozza’s legal acumen is reflected in the fact that 90 percent of his decisions that have been appealed have been upheld, as have all eight of his decisions making it to the state Supreme Court. Beyond that, he is a positive force in the community and possesses an even temperament.

Which brings us to his opponent. We’re not sure why Eugster is running for this position. He says he wants the law library relocated from downtown to nearby the county courthouse. He filed a lawsuit and lost. The location of the library is a minor matter, and the Spokane County Board of Commissioners is the arbiter of the library’s location. Eugster ran for county commissioner, losing in the 2002 primary. He filed a lawsuit over that and lost.

He says the court has too many graduates of Gonzaga Law School, but Cozza got his law degree from the same school as Eugster, the University of Washington. Eugster said he was going to challenge Maryann Moreno, who had ruled against him in yet another lawsuit. He changed his mind and chose to challenge Tari Eitzen. He changed his mind again and now the opponent is Cozza.

Eugster’s lack of focus, poor judgment and general volatility make him particularly ill-suited to serve as a judge. And Cozza has given us no reason to want to replace him.

This is an easy choice. We recommend Cozza.