During its regular quarterly meeting last weekend, the State Committee of the Washington State Republican Party (WAGOP) made official early recommendations of two candidates for open seats on the Washington State Supreme Court. The candidates are recently retired Federal Way Municipal Court Judge Dave Larson and current Mason County Superior Court Judge David Stevens.
WAGOP Chairman Jim Walsh explains the recommendations:
“This is an extraordinary year for the Washington State Supreme Court. Due to a combination of mandatory retirements and unexpected resignations, five of the nine positions on the Court will be up for election this November. And, with multiple major cases heading to the Court in the coming months—including lawsuits over the controversial state income tax scheme, the raid on the LEOFF1 public-employee pension, attacks on elected sheriffs around the state, the excessive use of emergency clauses on bills in Olympia, anti-gun rights proposals, gender ideology in public schools and others—these elections for the WA State Supreme Court are more important than ever.
“Because judicial races in Washington are nonpartisan, WAGOP appreciates that most judge candidates prefer to be ‘recommended’ by political parties rather than to be ‘endorsed.’ With this in mind, the Party recommends Dave Larson and David Stevens. These recommendations are strong—the WAGOP believes both judges will be immensely valuable additions to our state’s highest court.
“WAGOP believes this so strongly that—although it has moved away from making early endorsements—the State Committee decided Judge Larson and Judge Stevens deserve early support.
“Judge Dave Larson is well known to people who know Washington’s court systems. For more than 20 years, he’s been a prominent figure—carrying a full court docket, while also speaking and instructing young people on law and government. He has won the ‘President’s Award’ from the District and Municipal Court Judges Association and has been rated as an ‘Exceptionally Well Qualified’ trial judge.
“Judge Larson is a native Washingtonian, born in Tacoma, who worked his way through college at the University of Puget Sound and then worked full time while he went to law school at night, earning his law degree from Seattle University School of Law. He describes his judicial philosophy as ‘protecting your individual rights and upholding the state and federal constitutions as written.’
“Judge David Stevens has been a Superior Court judge in Mason County for several years. Before being elected to the bench, he spent most of his legal career as a county prosecutor. He’s a product of the University of Washington, having received both his undergraduate and law degrees from the UW.
“Judge Stevens has been applauded for explaining Washington law and court decisions in ‘plain English’ to groups around the state. In a recent media interview, he said: ‘If adhering to the United States Constitution, the Washington State Constitution, is conservative, then I guess I am. [But] I don’t believe that that’s a conservative position. I think that’s the way judges should interpret the law.’ He went on to say that a big reason he’s running for the State Supreme Court is: ‘We don’t have any diversity of thought there.’
“Both Judge Larson and Judge Stevens plan to bring much needed ‘diversity of thought’ to the Washington State Supreme Court. This is a good thing.”
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