18 vie for 9 District Court positions

With 18 candidates spread unevenly among nine District Court positions this fall, Spokane County voters might need some help figuring out who is who, and who should get their vote.

Candidates who appeared Tuesday at the Spokane Valley Chamber of Commerce’s judicial forum had varying bits of advice on how to choose among the throng of candidates.

Look to their experience, said some as they spent three minutes trying to convince a luncheon crowd that they were the one to pick.

“I practiced law longer than any of the other candidates” for Position 6, said Harvey Dunham, a former judge pro tem who was appointed to the seat about 18 months ago. “I’ve been a judge longer than some of my opponents have been lawyers.”

“You want someone with strong criminal experience,” said Debra Hayes, one of Dunham’s five opponents, because district judges set bail and sign search warrants. She claims advantage because she’s a deputy prosecuting attorney who has worked on domestic violence, juvenile, sexual assault and family law cases.

Or maybe that would mean Michael Nelson, a former city prosecutor and city attorney who represented the police department, has the edge because he’s also a former Salt Lake City policeman who once worked undercover. “I’m the only candidate with experience living under another identity, buying illegal drugs and planning a robbery that, fortunately, never took place.”

Or maybe the advantage should go to Christine Carlile, who said she understands both ends of the system, by working as a county public defender during the week and as a military prosecutor for the judge advocate general in the Army Reserves on the weekend. “Please make an educated decision about these people,” she urged the crowd.

Dan Davis, a candidate for Position 2, said he knows the criminal justice system from both sides, too. He’s been both a prosecutor and a public defender, as well as a former state trooper who estimated he’d written as many as 1,000 drunken driving tickets in the Valley. That’s important, Davis said, because drunken driving is “one of the biggest issues facing the court.”

Sara Derr, the incumbent in Position 2, said she’d let the challengers explain why there were so many candidates. Instead, she emphasized the work she’s done over the last 12 years for court programs involving domestic violence, mental health therapy, and day reporting for some non-jailed offenders.

“With too much change, you might lose the continuity,” she said.

Mark Laiminger, a candidate for Position 3, said experience was a key factor, and cited his 19 years as a prosecutor, with training on everything from gangs and meth labs to domestic violence and prosecutorial ethics. But it’s also important to “treat everyone respectfully,” Laiminger said.

His opponent, John O. Cooney, said he got into the race because he sees a number of problems in District Court. “I’m not going to solve all of them,” Cooney said, but added he has support from people who see the problems firsthand, such as jail employees and law enforcement unions.

Endorsements are important, said Patti Connolly Walker, the incumbent in Position 4, who has support from firefighters, police and deputies unions and the Labor Council. While some people think judges should be appointed to avoid the politics of an election, Connolly Walker said elections “force you to get out and meet your constituents.”

Mary Logan, the challenger for Position 4, said she has endorsements of her own, from current and former Superior and District court judges. And she has a resumé that includes private practice in California, city work for Waverly and Latah and time in the public defender’s office, Logan added.

But experience on the bench is also key, said Greg Tripp, the incumbent in Position 5, who drew a challenge from attorney Jeff Leslie just minutes before last week’s filing deadline.

“Everybody is to be treated fairly. You’ll hear that from everyone,” Tripp said. “But I’ve got a record of doing that.”

Organizers of the forum said all candidates got an invitation to come, but some couldn’t arrange it in their schedules. Judges Donna Wilson and Annette Plese, who are running unopposed and all but assured of re-election, did come, but didn’t use their full three minutes. Wilson did, however, thank the Valley for not forming its own municipal court when it incorporated as a city, opting instead to contract with District Court for those services.