Weber files bid for Position 1 judgeship

The race to replace retiring Spokane County Superior Court Judge Robert D. Austin is getting more crowded. Spokane attorney Greg Weber announced his candidacy for the Position 1 judgeship this week, becoming the third contender for the seat. Spokane County District Court Judge Annette S. Plese and longtime Spokane trial attorney Mark Vovos have already announced.

Weber, 41, is a Spokane native who graduated from Washington State University in 1989. He obtained his law degree in 1996 magna cum laude from Gonzaga University School of Law, where he was the recipient of the Willard Roe Memorial Scholarship for academic excellence.

Weber served as a deputy prosecutor in Okanogan and Pierce counties after law school and joined the Washington state attorney general’s office in 2001, where he prosecuted criminal felony and misdemeanor offenses statewide.

In 2003 he became the deputy director of the attorney general’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, which prosecuted fraud cases statewide. His campaign literature says the unit recovered “millions of dollars” for Washington state taxpayers and Weber received three special commendations for his work.

Weber said he has recently started serving as a judge pro tempore in Spokane County District Court.

Since 2006, he has been in general private practice, where he specializes in training area prosecutors.

Weber is married to Michelle Ressa Weber, and they have two young sons. His campaign co-chairmen are Spokane businessmen Ryan Layton and Brian Kurucz.

Filing week for all elected positions in Washington state is June 2-6. The primary, which will trim the judicial contenders to two in each race, is August 19.

More information about Weber’s candidacy can be found on his Web site, www.weberforjudge.com.