u/firelight

It seems like every election there are a number of people who find they don’t really know what the issues are or understand what the candidates really stand for. This is especially true for local elections like school boards, county commissioners, judges, etc. So I thought it might be useful to people to share some of my research, and invite others to contribute what they know. Ballots will begin arriving in a couple of days for the primary, so I thought now would be a good time to put this out.

There are five seats on the Washington Supreme Court up for election this year, which means the ideological bent of the whole court is up for grabs. Of those five races, four have more than two candidates running*, so those are the ones I’m going to talk about. I’m trying to make this simple, so I’m giving some key information about the candidates, and then at the bottom in italics I try to lay out a simple summary for who you might want to vote for based on your political position. I’d be happy if people want to discuss or fill out more detail in the comments.

I cribbed information from this website (which is focused on the issue of the millionaire tax), as well as used links from this helpful guide to get to candidates’ websites, statements, and fundraising info. I encourage anyone looking for more detailed information to use these resources.

* - For anyone who doesn’t already know, Washington has a Top-2 Open Primary system. That means everyone runs for office on the same ballot, and the people with the top 2 most votes advance to the general election. It also means there’s not a lot of point in discussing races with only 1 or 2 candidates, since they will automatically advance to the general.

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Position 1 (3 candidates)

Colleen Melody - Appointed by Gov. Ferguson at the beginning of this year to replace retiring Justice Mary Yu. Veteran of AGO’s office (Civil Right Division) who co-lead a multi-state lawsuit to protect abortion medication access nationwide, and spearheaded challenges to the federal Muslim Travel Ban, the Transgender Military Service Ban, the effort to end birthright citizenship, and the attempted repeal of DACA. Melody is endorsed by all current Justices, 5 former Justices, Gov. Ferguson, AG Brown, Gov. Inslee, Gov. Gregoire, 3 congressional reps, and a laundry list of state reps.

Scott Edwards - Edwards is a tax lawyer who has spent his career fighting (read: suing) the Department of Revenue. He was one of the attorneys who challenged Washington’s capital gains tax, and litigated against the Seattle income tax. He has taught tax law at the University of Washington for nearly 20 years. No stated endorsements I could find.

Laura Christensen Colberg - She is an attorney who has practiced family law for 30 years. She’s been endorsed by the WA Republican Party. She states that she is a person of faith, and asserts that Washington’s Constitution was written “in gratitude to the Supreme Ruler of the Universe”. Her campaign message is that she’s not beholden to any political favors.

Melody is the left wing choice. If you’re right wing (or deeply opposed to the income tax on millionaires), you’ll likely want to support Edwards. Colberg seems… under-qualified.

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Position 3 (3 candidates)

J. Michael Diaz - Assistant U.S. Attorney in Seattle, where he helped found the office's Civil Rights Program. Rumblings have circulated about a Diaz appellate opinion that ticked off labor and his defense of ICE agents while at the DOJ. Diaz has been endorsed by Justice Montoya-Lewis to succeed her, as well as Governors Inslee, Gregoire, and Locke, and many current and former Justices. He’s also endorsed by King County Democrats.

David Stevens - The conservative candidate, Stevens says the court lacks "diversity of thought” and that any change to the Washington State Constitution must be done by constitutional amendment and not through “judicial re-interpretation of the Constitution” or “constitutional court precedent”. Asserts courts should not reinterpret settled constitutional language to reach policy outcomes. Endorsed by the WA Republican Party, he says he’d emulate U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.

Jaime Hawk - A longtime federal public defender and civil rights attorney. Serves on the Washington Supreme Court’s Minority and Justice Commission. Endorsed by Gov. Ferguson, Justice Yu, Justice Whitener, labor unions, Tacoma Indivisible, Democrats, FairVote, Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, many state reps, long list of judges. The Urbanist characterizes Hawk as an “open-minded reformer” who “worked on ending mass incarceration and promoting economic justice.”

In this race Stevens is the lone conservative, with Diaz as the moderate option and Hawk to his left.

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Position 5 (4 candidates)

Theo Angelis - A partner at K&L Gates for 26 years, leading its Appellate and Intellectual Property practices. Opposing counsel in his cases described him as "the smartest lawyer I've ever faced." Angelis has provided thousands of pro bono support to immigration cases, including a class action to secure appointed counsel for children in immigration proceedings. He is the current editor of the Washington Lawyers Practice Manual, whose sales support Neighborhood Legal Clinics. He is endorsed by Governors Ferguson and Gregoire, State Senate Majority Leader Jamie Pedersen, and five sitting Washington Supreme Court justices.

Dave Larson - A municipal court judge and regular candidate who has previously run in 2000, 2016, 2020, and 2024. Endorsed by the WA Republican Party, and associated with the right-wing Federalist Society. Running on an anti-income-tax platform. Larson describes himself as a ‘textualist’, a judicial philosophy championed by justices like the late Antonin Scalia. He’s supported by Project 42, a conservative group seeking to remake Washington into a red state.

Sharonda Amamilo - A veteran and former public defender, currently a judge. Endorsed by various local Democratic bodies, the WA State Labor Council, the WPA, Fairvote WA, Rep. Strickland, Justices Whitener and Yu, and various state judges. Amamilo talks mostly about her various experience, and doesn’t seem to have a strong ideological lean one way or the other. In an interview, she stated, “Ultimately, my judicial philosophy is pragmatic. Some have described it as Hamiltonian because I like clarity. I like clarity a lot.”

Greg Miller - Appellate lawyer of 40+ years. No endorsements. Campaign site is deliberately policy-free, stating, “Justices don't run on policy.”

Larson is the clear right-wing choice in this race, while Angelis is more centrist. Angelis’s bone fides are solid, but his decades as a corporate lawyer are concerning. Amamilo seems to be intentionally ideologically neutral, but speaks cogently to her commitment to justice. Miller is a total wildcard.

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Position 7 (4 candidates)

Debra Stephens - Incumbent Chief Justice. She wrote the decision upholding the capital gains tax 3 years ago, specifically declining in that decision to rule on the 1933 Culliton decision that is the current barrier to an income tax. Stevens does not seem to have a visible ideological lean. On her website, she emphasizes access to justice and judicial independence. In her candidate statement, she says, “I respect legal traditions and constitutional principles.”

Todd A. Bloom - Tax attorney who specializes in helping millionaires and billionaires avoid paying taxes, two time-Republican congressional candidate, perennial Supreme Court challenger. Endorsed by the WA Republican Party. No campaign contributions other than about $3,000 of his own money.

Karim Merchant - Criminal defense attorney. On his website states, “My judicial philosophy begins with a commitment to constitutional fidelity.” He also states, “I… believe the judiciary must remain independent, impartial, and free from politics.” No endorsements. Merchant calls the 1933 Culliton decision 'rightfully' decided.

David Shelvey - Filed to run but appears to have no real campaign. No fundraising, no endorsements. In his candidate statement, indicates 11 years experience as a lawyer in various areas of the law, and mentions providing pro bono legal advice to low-income people and seniors, among others. Says, “I oppose a state income tax and won’t be soft on criminals.”

None of the three challengers to Stephens seem to be putting up an especially credible fight, but of the three Bloom seems like the strongest choice for an anti-Stephens vote. Given her stance as neither for nor against the income tax, I see no reason not to vote for Stephens unless your single issue is the income tax.

My Pocket (Black, about 3 years old) just developed some kind of screen defect. These yellow/red lines just suddenly appeared earlier today. They show up both in system menus and during gameplay, but seem to move/appear only in certain conditions (I think brighter white pixels are what set them off). I tested my Pocket on the dock, and had no issues, so it’s definitely a hardware problem.

I’ve already emailed Analogue about getting a repair, but since the screen still clearly works I’m wondering if it might be like a worn cable or something. I’m curious if anyone has run into something similar, but didn’t find any posts exactly like what I’m experiencing.

Marilyn Strickland (D) - The current incumbent. Former mayor of Tacoma. Worked for Amazon as the president of the Seattle Chamber of Commerce to oppose the Seattle Head Tax, and before that managing Starbuck’s online business. She lists among her priorities building more housing, protecting medicare, boosting renewable energy, and supporting our servicemembers facing food insecurity and having access to affordable housing. Not well liked on this board, her top contributors include AIPAC, Amazon, and Microsoft.

Chris D. Chung (R) - Chung seems to be a pharmacist who previously ran for Insurance Commissioner (as a Democrat), receiving about 3% of the primary vote, as well as for Mayor of Federal Way. He has not reported any fund raising in this or any prior election, and does not seem to have a website.

Kurtis Engle (Union) - Engle has previously run for WA-10, as well as Secretary of State, WA House of Reps., and Centralia City Council. Identifies as a disabled veteran. Has not reported any fundraising, and does not have a website I could find.

Adam Arafat (D) - Arafat describes himself as an army veteran and “public-sector infrastructure leader”. He cites as key messages of his campaign, “Universal healthcare, lower drug prices, accessible mental health care, and fair taxation that ensures corporations fulfill their financial obligations… Families deserve lower costs for essential goods like housing, energy, food, and healthcare. We need to pair this with strong accountability regardless of wealth, power or position.” Arafat has filed with the FEC, but no data on donors was available at the time I looked. He has previously posted to reddit about his candidacy, which you can find here.

Alex Scheel (D) - I was not able to find much information about Scheel. He appears to be a veteran and craft beverage professional who is associated with the Tacoma DSA, Tacoma Indivisible, and About Face Tacoma. His website only has a “coming soon” graphic, and I was not able to find any fundraising information.

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UPDATE

One additional candidate has been added, Derek Maynes (No Party Preference) - His website contains no information, and he has not filed with the FEC. However, he appears to be the same Derek Maynes who ran for WA House of Reps. in 2016 as a Democrat. Ballotpedia states he is a disabled veteran and small business owner. I wasn't able to find any other immediate information about him.