Pierce County

Washington Supreme Court

Supreme Court justices are elected to six-year terms by voters throughout the entire state. There are nine Supreme Court justices, and Washington residents will vote for three in 2008.

Supreme Court candidates appear on the primary election ballot on August 19, 2008. If a candidate receives more than 50% of the votes cast in the primary, that candidate appears on the general election ballot without opposition. If no candidate receives more than 50% in the primary, the top two candidates appear on the general election ballot on November 4, 2008.

Position Three: Michael Bond is running against the incumbent, Mary Fairhurst. This race will be decided in the primary election.

Michael Bond

Mary Fairhurst

Position Four: Jim Beecher and Frank Vulliet are running against the incumbent, Charles Johnson.

Jim Beecher

Charles Johnson

Frank Vulliet

Position Seven: Debra Stephens is running for re-election without opposition.

Debra Stephens

Court of Appeals

Division Two, District One

Judge Elaine Houghton's term expires at the end of 2008. She has filed for re-election, without opposition.

Superior Court

Superior Court judges are elected to four-year terms. All Superior Court positions throughout Washington are up for election in 2008.

If only one candidate runs for an office in a county with a population of more than 100,000, that candidate receives a Certificate of Election, and the position will not appear on either the primary or the general election ballot. If there are two or more candidates for a position, the office will appear on the August 19 primary ballot.

The following position is contested (incumbent judge in bold):

Dep't 9

Sergio Armijo, Michael Hecht

No candidates filed against the following incumbent judges, and under Washington law, they are therefore entitled to Certificates of Election. These positions will not appear on the primary or general election ballot.

Dep't 1	James Orlando
Dep't 2	Katherine Stolz
Dep't 3	Tom Larkin
Dep't 4	Bryan Chushcoff
Dep't 5	Vicki Hogan
Dep't 6	Rosanne Buckner
Dep't 7	Frederick Fleming
Dep't 8	Brian Tollefson
Dep't 10	Gary Steiner
Dep't 11	John McCarthy
Dep't 12	Stephanie Arend
Dep't 13	Kathryn Nelson
Dep't 14	Susan Serko
Dep't 15	Thomas Felnagle
Dep't 16	Lisa Worswick
Dep't 17	Ronald Culpepper
Dep't 18	Bev Grant
Dep't 19	Linda Lee
Dep't 20	Kitty-Ann Van Doorninck
Dep't 21	Frank Cuthbertson
Dep't 22	John Hickman

The Tacoma-Pierce County Bar Association has overseen an extensive survey of attorneys and jurors regarding the quality of incumbent Pierce County Superior Court judges. An explanation of this survey, and the 2008 survey results, are available at the TPCBA web site.

District Court

District Court judges are elected to four-year terms; they were elected in 2006, and their terms extend through the end of 2010. Vacant positions may appear on the 2008 ballot.

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