Editor’s Note: The Enterprise submitted a questionnaire by e-mail to the District Court judge candidates in July prior to the Primary Election, which ousted former candidate Elizabeth “Liz” Hallock, leaving candidates Jeff Baker and Dave Brown. The Enterprise chose to re-run the portions of a story that ran in July containing the responses of Baker and Brown to help voters better understand the candidates and make a decision when ballots are distributed in October.
The field of candidates for the non-partisan office of Klickitat County West District Court Judge comprises two first-time candidates for the position. Jeff Baker of Trout Lake and Dave Brown of White Salmon are seeking to replace retiring nine-term West District Court Judge Robert (Bob) Weisfield.
The winner of the Nov. 4 General Election will begin serving a 4-year term in January 2015.
Only registered voters who reside within the West District Court boundaries are eligible to vote in the General Elections. As of July 10, the district had 6,851 registered voters. Eligible voting precincts are: Bingen, White Salmon, North White Salmon, North Fruit Valley, Mt. Brook, Husum, Trout Lake, Glenwood, Lyle, East Lyle, North Dalles, High Prairie, Appleton, and Centerville. According to Brandie Sullivan, Klickitat County’s elections administrator, Glenwood, Trout Lake, Appleton, and Centerville are split, or partial, precincts.
Jeff Baker graduated with a law degree from the University of Minnesota in 1987 and has practiced law for 27 years; his practice is based Hood River, but he resides in Trout Lake, where he has been involved in everything from coaching boys high school soccer to helping the Trout Lake Community Foundation select scholarship recipients.
“I am the first person in my family to become a lawyer,” Baker said. “I got into the legal profession be-cause I felt I would be good at it and could make a positive impact in my community.”
The 53-year-old Baker has been preparing himself for the office of West District Court Judge in a variety of ways. Though he lacks prosecutorial experience, Baker has worked in West District Court as a defense attorney the past 18 years, and been appointed to serve as judge pro tem in both of the county’s district courts, Skamania County District Court, and Klickitat County Superior Court. In addition, Baker has served as a court-appointed arbitrator in Klickitat County Superior Court and Oregon’s Seventh Judicial District. In that capacity, Baker has arbitrated more than 75 civil cases.
“My service as a pro tem judge and arbitrator in courts throughout the Gorge has provided me with the essential experience to immediately transition into this position,” Baker said. “In addition, having endorsements from the vast majority of lawyers that work in Klickitat County courts, the probation officers, and Judges Weisfield, (Ron) Reynier, and former Judge (Tom) Reynolds, I have the support of the legal community necessary to effectively operate this court from my first day on the bench.”
As judge, Baker said he will up-hold the “independence, integrity, and impartiality of the judiciary,” as required by the state’s judicial code of conduct.
“I am running for judge to ensure that these values are maintained so that all who enter West District Court know they will receive the same treatment regardless of their circumstance or background,” he noted. “My experience in this court and service in our community have shown me that these are important priorities, and I will work every day to make sure they are enforced.”
To ensure the court is providing the best services possible, Baker said he hopes to implement “a more vigorous probation system based on the ‘swift and certain’ sanction model that has shown promising results in several courts.”
“This program is based on research that has found that swift and certain probation measures have the greatest impact on preventing probationers from abusing drugs and alcohol while on court supervision,” Baker explained. “Stopping this destructive behavior is one of the most important things our District Court can strive to do.”
All said, Baker is hoping the voters of the West District will let him put his skills and experience to work for them, to provide the best courtroom services possible.
“I will work every day to be thoroughly prepared, even-handed, and courteous in applying the law in my courtroom,” Baker said, “and I pledge to work diligently to make sure that West District Court is operating efficiently and equitably for the entire community.”
Dave Brown is a former deputy prosecutor for Klickitat County who ran for the partisan office of Klickitat County Prosecuting Attor-ney in 2010. He previously served in Skamania County as its chief deputy prosecuting attorney, and in Lewis County as a deputy prosecutor.
Brown, 49, is currently a private practitioner, though he has worked as a public defender on felony cases and as the attorney representing parents in dependency cases and other family law matters, according to information posted on his campaign Web site, davebrownforklickitatjudge.com. He has been a member of the Washington State Bar since 2000, and a practicing attorney since 2001.
Said Brown, “I got into the legal profession as I wanted to be a part of our system of ordered liberty. I also liked the idea that one person could make a real difference.”
Brown is running because he thinks he can make a difference based on his years of experience as a prosecutor and defender.
“I believe that the judiciary, like the rest of the system under Washington’s state constitution, exists to safeguard individual rights. People would know that their rights would be respected, and the matters in dispute decided would reflect such,” Brown said.
He noted that many other courts of limited jurisdiction have effective mental health and substance abuse treatment programs that could work in West District Court. Brown recognizes, however, that “the judge is also a department head with a limited budget, so with our current fiscal issues it may take a while to make any broad changes.”
On the campaign trail, Brown said he lets people know that he is “the same guy, with the same core values before I started running for judge. I also am sensitive to many being scared of the judicial process and want to help defuse some of those feelings.”
Brown said he is “not responsible for anything that would reflect negatively on the court or the office of judge.” That said, Brown is currently the defendant in a sexual harassment lawsuit in Clark County Superior Court. Brown is being sued by four women who used to work with Brown in the Klickitat County Prosecutor’s Office. The allegations against Brown first surfaced in 2010 during his campaign for prosecutor.
Brown maintains his innocence of the allegations and is working to clear his name. Last month, though, Brown’s case suffered a couple of legal setbacks when the Division II Court of Appeals denied his motion to disqualify the plaintiffs’ principle attorney for a conflict of interest, and when the state Supreme Court, by an 8-1 majority, upheld the trial court’s denial of a change of venue to Klickitat County.
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