Seattle P-I is reporting a critical error in flyers inserted with your primary ballots. The flyer attempts to explain our state’s Top 2 primary, but missed the mark concerning judicial elections. In judicial elections where there are only 2 candidates, the primary election is the main event. One office that will be determined by the August 7 primary is Washington Supreme Court Position No. 8, currently held by Justice Steve Gonzalez, who should retain his position. (Maybe you saw him on the mainstage Sunday at Capitol Hill Block Party? Or perhaps at the Crocodile last month, when his cousin Ben Harper dropped by to jam?)
I know how easy it is to gloss over the judicial positions. I admit my own confusion when I first voted here; my home state appoints judges, as do many other states. But to care about issues like marriage equality or access, compels us to care about who the judges are that sit in our courtrooms. I worked closely with now-Justice Gonzalez for six years, while he volunteered for an organization I work with. During that time, I had a unique opportunity to see him make a difference in our courts.
We may not all be able to afford lawyers if we need or want one, but if you do go to the courthouse, there will be a judge. That judge should be ethical, impartial and fair to us. Confidence in this principle was shaken to the core for many of us in late 2010, when the Seattle Times reported about a meeting of the Washington Supreme Court justices in which two of them made racially biased comments.
Many of the lawyers, judges, and law school faculty in our state were alarmed. Through deep hurt and great emotion, they quickly built a broad-based coalition of social scientists, legal scholars, criminal and civil lawyers, judges, and community partners into the ad hoc Task Force on Race in the Criminal Justice System. Leading the effort was then-King County Superior Court Judge Steve Gonzalez.
In 2011, the Washington Supreme Court ruled on a case, State v. Monday, in which they determined that, yes, of course it is not a fair and impartial trial when the prosecutor is mocking witnesses and appealing to racist stereotypes as part of his case. The work of the Task Force played no small part in helping the Supreme Court justices reach that conclusion, as evidenced by the Chief Justice’s remarks at a Task Force conference last year.
It was one step. There are many more to take to ensure that everyone is treated fairly in our state’s courts. I offer this one poignant example in a career full of many that shows Steve Gonzalez has the leadership, vision and stamina to be a part of making our courts more fair. That’s why I’m voting in the primary, and will vote for Justice Gonzalez. I hope you’ll join me.
