SECTION I
BASIC CANDIDATE INFORMATION
1. Name as it will appear on the ballot
|
First Name |
Middle Initial or Nick Name |
Last Name |
2. Office sought (include office, jurisdiction, position/district number):
3. Are you the incumbent? Yes No
4. How long have you resided in this district/city?
|
I have resided in the state of Washington for my entire life. |
5. How long have you resided in King County?
|
I do not reside in King County |
6. Is the office sought partisan or nonpartisan? Partisan Nonpartisan
CAMPAIGN CONTACTS
|
Campaign Name: |
Committee to Re-Elect Justice Gerry Alexander to Washington Supreme Court, Position 8 |
|
|
Address: |
|
|
|
City/State/Zip: |
|
|
|
Campaign Phone: |
|
|
|
Campaign Fax: |
|
|
|
Campaign E-mail: |
|
|
|
Campaign Website: |
|
|
POLITICAL BACKGROUND
1. Beginning with the most recent position, please list public offices which you have held. Include positions on appointive Boards or Commissions.
Public Office |
Elective or Appointive? |
Dates Held |
Leadership Role (if any) |
|
Superior Court Judge for Thurston & Mason Counties
|
Elected, September 1978
|
|
Presiding judge numerous times (position rotated)
|
|
|
|
|
Presiding judge 1989, 1990 and 1993
|
|
Justice, Washington Supreme Court
|
|
|
Chief Justice since January 2001
|
2. If you ran for public office but were not elected, please list those races below:
|
Office Title |
Year of Run |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
SECTION III
In this section, we are seeking responses that reflect the four ratings criteria: involvement, effectiveness, character, and knowledge. These are defined as follows:
- Involvement: What has the candidate done previously in family, neighborhood, community, volunteer work, employment or public life to suggest readiness to accomplish challenging objectives? How do these activities demonstrate readiness for the challenges unique to the office sought?
- Effectiveness: Has the candidate demonstrated promise of being productive in the office sought? Has the candidate shown the ability to work with other people?
- Character: Do the candidate's personal traits show the ability to take on the responsibilities of campaigning for and holding the public office she or he is seeking? Is the candidate a leader, participant or observer? Is the candidate trustworthy, reliable and candid?
- Knowledge: Has the candidate demonstrated the willingness and ability to learn and adapt? Does the candidate understand the duties and challenges of the office sought? Does the candidate have a firm grasp of the issues important to his or her constituency and their potential effects?
1. In a page or less, why are you running for this office? (Note: the interview committee will be given a copy of this statement before your interview; at the beginning of your interview you will have the opportunity to expand on this statement in any way you wish.)
|
Although I am a veteran judge, I believe tht I have as much enthusiasm and zeal for judging and judicial administration as I had when I first became a judge in 1973. In addition, there is much I would like to accomplish before I retire from the bench. Speciafically, I wish to continue purshing for completion of the objectives of the Judiciarys's, "Justice in Jeopardy" initiative, an intiative which was launched under my tenure as Chief Justice of the Washington Supreme Court.
The catalyst for the initiative was the 2004 report of the “Court Funding Task Force.” This report indicated that state government was not meeting its responsibility to adequately support the operation of Washington’s trial courts. Based on this report, the Judiciary and a coalition of justice system and local government partners took their case to the legislature, asking it to assist local government in providing adequate, stable and long-term funding for Washington’s trial courts as well as for Washington’s indigent criminal defense services and civil legal services for the poor.
We had considerable success in 2005 and 2006 in achieving the preliminary goals of the Justice in Jeopardy initiative, but much remains to be accomplished in order to improve our state’s justice system. We have advised the legislature that we will continue to push for improvements to our justice system and we plan to do so in the 2007 legislative session. For me, this is unfinished business I would like to see through to completion. .
|
|
|
2. Describe your most important personal characteristics or traits as they relate to the office you seek.
|
I believe that a fair and objective evaluation of my judicial career would lead one to conclude that I have maintained high ethical and professional standards throughout my judicial career. I am very proud that this year I received the American Inss of Court 9th Circuit Professionalism Award, an award that had never before been presented to a Washington judge. The award recognized the high professional standards I have maintained throughout my years on the bench.
I have always been of the belief that the oath a judge or justice recites requires that judicial officers treat everyone who comes befor him or her, whether they are a party to the a case, a juror, a witness or spectator, with dignity, courtesy and respect. I have endavored to do that over my career as a judge and would continue to do so should I be re-elected to the position I currently hold.
|
3. Please describe in sufficient detail, one to three accomplishments or contributions of which you are most proud. These examples should illustrate effective skills and capabilities you think apply to the office you are seeking. These accomplishments may have occurred at any time in your personal, professional, or public life.
|
I am very proud of the fact that my colleagues on the Washington Supreme Court have twice elected me to a four year term as Chief Justice. In my second term I became the longest serving chief justice in our state's history, an honor that I cherish.
I am also very proud of what the judiciary has accomplished under my leadership in the last two sessions of the state legislature (see answer to question 1 above). I think our achieving of the preliminary goals of the "Justice in Jeopard" initiative can be seen to be one of the most important judicial reforms in the last 100 years and we are not done with the iniative. |
4. Please list or describe your current and past activities in the community in which you have acquired skills that relate to the office you seek. Include your role in the activity and the year(s) in which you were involved. Involvement consists of many areas such as family, neighborhood, community, employment, or public life.
|
American Bar Association American Judges Association Bench-Bar-Press Committee of the State of Washington, Chair Bigelow House Preservation Association, Past President and Board Member Board for Judicial Administration of the State of Washington, Chair Capital Furnishings Preservation Committee, Chair Capital High School Sports Booster Club, Past President and Board Member Junior League of Olympia Community Advisory Boart, Past Member Marine Employment Commission of the State of Washington, Past Chair National Conference of Chief Justices, Member and Past Board Member Olympia Area YMCA, Past President and Board Member Olympia Historical Society, Member Olympia Lions Club, Former Member and Past President Olympia Rotary Club, Member and Past Board Member Patrons of South Sound Cultural Activities, Past Board Member Puget Sound Inn of Court, Emeritus Member and Past President Salvation Army, Past Member of Olympia Area Advisory Board State Capital Historical Society, Past President and Board Member Statute Law Committee of the State of Washington, Member United Way of Thurston County, Past President and Campaign Chair Washington Courts Historical Society, Board Member Washington State Bar Association
|
- Please describe the duties of the office you seek. Which are the most important duties and why?
|
The jurisdiction of the Washington Supreme Court is described in Article IV, Section 4 of the State Constitution. Because the Supreme Court is the state's highest court and court of "last resort" on state law questions, the principal duty of a justice is to decide, together with his colleagues on the court, the cases that reach that court. Since the advent of the court of appeals in 1969, the Supreme Court generally has the discretion to determine which appeals, amond the many that are filed each year from the sessions of our superior courts, which it will consider. There are a few matters over which the Supreme Court has original jurisdiction and these cases must be decided promptly and deliberately along with the cases that reach us as part of our appeals jurisdiction.
The chief justice's duties fall into roughly two categories. The first is to serve as the the presiding judge of the court and as chief administrative judge of the court. The second is to serve as the chief magistrate of the state's judicial system. |
EDUCATION BACKGROUND SUMMARY
FOR PUBLICATION IN CANDIDATE EVALUATION REPORT
The Municipal League’s Candidate Evaluation Report is distributed to voters in print and/or on our website. It includes a summary of the candidate’s education. Please summarize your education in 120 characters (letters, punctuation, and space all combined). The League will delete material that exceeds the space limit by beginning with the last entry. Suggested order is (degree) (subject) (school) (year, if desired).
Note: If this question is left blank the League will not include education information in your candidate profile.
|
Grades 1-12, Olympia School District; BA, University of Washington (1958); JD, University of Washington (1964) |
CIVIC INVOLVEMENT SUMMARY
FOR PUBLICATION IN CANDIDATE EVALUATION REPORT
The Municipal League’s Candidate Evaluation Report also includes a summary of each candidate’s civic involvement. Please summarize your civic involvement in the space below. We will make every attempt to include the information in the Candidate Evaluation Report as submitted. Due to space restrictions in the Report, your response is limited to 500 characters (letters, punctuation, and spaces all combined). It is important that you list your involvement beginning with the most important and ending with the least important. If you exceed the length of response permitted, or if the League should find it necessary to shorten responses for publication purposes, deletions will be made beginning with the last item listed.
Note: This information will appear verbatim on the League’s Candidate Evaluation Report. If this question is left blank, the Municipal League will not include information on your civic involvement in the Report.
Check here if you would like the Municipal League to copy the first 500 characters from Question 4 to paste into this section.
|
|
Supplemental Judicial Candidate Questionnaire
1. Briefly describe the nature of your current practice/position including types of clients and areas, if any, of specialization. State what percentage involves civil litigation, criminal litigation, and/or nonlitigation.
|
I am current the chief justice of the Washington Supreme Court. I have been on this court since January 1995 and have been chief justice since January 2001. Justices and judges do not, of course, have clients and do not specialize. The appeals that the supreme court entertains in any one year are roughly one-half criminal cases and one-half civil cases. The civil caseload is varied and runs the gamut. |
2. Identify all your experience as a neutral decision maker (e.g. judge, permanent or pro tem, in any jurisdiction, administrative law judge, hearing officer, arbitrator, etc.)
|
I have been a judge for 33 years (superior court, 1973-1983; court of appeals, 1985-1995; and supreme court, 1995-present). Prior to becoming a judge, I occasionally served as a pro-tem judge in the Olympia municipal courts and the Thurston County district court. I served as an arbitrator a few times during the nine years I practiced law privately in Olympia. |
3. If you have been a judge, identify any court committees on which you have served or administrative positions you have held, including dates.
|
I currently chair the Board for Judicial Administration (BJA) in my capacity as Chief Justice. The Board is the policy setting body for the entire judiciary of the state of Washington. I also chair the Bench-Bar-Press Committee of the state of Washington as well as the State's Historic Furnishings Commission. I am a member of the Statute Law Committee and the Medal of Merit, Medal of Valor committees of the state of Washington. |
4. List the approximate percentage of your time over the last five years you have made appearances in:
|
NA |
% municipal court |
|
NA |
% state district court |
|
NA |
% superior court |
|
% federal district court |
|
NA |
% appellate court |
|
NA |
% administrative tribunals |
5. Are you now an officer or director of any business enterprise other than your law practice? If so, what role do you expect to play if elected?
|
I am a director of an investment club and have been for approximately 40 years. The club is primarily social and the investing, which is entirely in common stocks, is secondary. |
6. Have you ever been disciplined or determined to be in breach of professional conduct by any court, administrative agency, bar association, disciplinary committee, judicial conduct commission, or other professional group? Have you ever had a formal complaint filed against you with the WSBA? If so for either or both questions, give the particulars, including the outcome.
|
I have never been disciplined by any of the above. To the best of my knowledge a Bar complaint has never been lodged against me until this year when an attorney from Spokane, Stephen Eugster, filed a Bar complaint against me and seven other members of the Supreme Court. The complaint is pending and is meritless - it arises out of the Mr. Eugster's dissatisfaction with the Supreme Court's handling of the appeal of the recall action against the late mayor of Spokane, Jim West. |
7. ADDITIONAL REFERENCES:
a) List the names, daytime and home phone numbers of three recent opposing counsel, including at least two cases that went to trial.
|
Name of Opposing Counsel |
Daytime Phone |
Home Phone |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
a) If you have served as a neutral decision maker, list the names, daytime and home phone numbers of the last four attorneys who have appeared before you.
|
Name of Attorney |
Daytime Phone |
Home Phone |
|
Linda Dalton, AAG |
360-753-0543 |
|
|
Jean Wilkinson, AAG |
360-586-0812 |
|
|
Randall Sutton, Deputy DA |
360-337-7211 |
|
|
Catherine Glinski |
360-876-2736 |
|
Finished!
If at all possible, send your response to the Municipal League electronically as an attachment, or insert it into an e-mail message (cec@munileague.org). Mail and fax numbers are listed below. If the League has not contacted you to schedule an interview, please call the League office at your earliest convenience.
Don’t forget to send the following to the Municipal League: a resume, a photo, campaign literature, and, if you are an incumbent, constituent newsletter and other materials. Please use the check-off list on the cover sheet of this packet to indicate which items you have sent.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR COOPERATION AND GOOD LUCK IN YOUR CAMPAIGN!
THE MUNICIPAL LEAGUE OF KING COUNTY
Candidate Evaluation Coordinator: Jennifer DiGiacomo
Seattle, WA 98104-1614 Fax: 425-671-0506 Website: www.munileague.org