Defense attorney James Dixon was the favorite in a recent Thurston County Bar Association poll asking members who want to see replace retiring Superior Court Judge Christine Pomeroy.
Pomeroy is one of three Thurston County Superior Court judges who will leave the bench in 2012. Pomeroy, 59, will retire March 1, before her term ends, setting the stage for an appointment by Gov. Christine Gregoire.
Fellow judges Paula Casey and Thomas McPhee have announced that they will not seek re-election when their terms end Dec. 31.
Whomever Gregoire chooses to replace Pomeroy will have to run for the office in 2012. Candidates also will run in 2012 for the other two vacancies.
Dixon, 54, a partner in the Olympia firm Ditlevson Rodgers Dixon, is the only person to formally announce his candidacy, although several other local attorneys have said they’ve sent letters to Gregoire asking to be considered.
Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Christen Peters, who also serves as the administration chief of the prosecutor’s office, said Thursday that she’d done so. Attorney Allen Miller, who serves as the president of the Olympia School Board, also has said he sent an application to Gregoire.
Cory Curtis, a spokesman for Gregoire, confirmed that all the judges listed in the poll had sent letters to Gregoire. He added that William P. Gilbert, an industrial insurance appeals judge, also has forwarded his name to Gregoire.
Curtis added that the timing of Gregoire’s appointment has yet to be determined.
In a phone interview Friday, Dixon said, “I’m flattered to have the respect and support of my peers.”
Indu Thomas is a court commissioner, a judicial position serving juvenile and family court.
Victor Minjares is an assistant attorney general in Attorney General Rob McKenna’s office.
Jeremy Pawloski: 360-754-5445
jpawloski@theolympian.com
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