Hunt takes commanding lead in appellate court race
By Diane Urbani de la Paz, Peninsula Daily News
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Hunt, who's been on the state appellate bench for District 2 since 1997, appeared to be winning her third six-year term with 65,903, or 61.18 percent, votes statewide versus Ford's 36,7776, or 35.82 percent, at 9:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Because of the way the state law works, the state Appeals Court Division 2, District 2 race is decided in the primary election.
District 2 includes Clallam, Jefferson, Grays Harbor, Kitsap, Mason and Thurston counties.
In Clallam County, Hunt led with 5,571 votes to Ford's 3,749. Jefferson County also went decisively for the incumbent, with 5,716 votes for Hunt and 2,826 for Ford.
"It's a bigger spread than I expected. I was hoping it would be close," Ford said Tuesday night.
He added that his opponent had emphasized his lack of judicial experience. But Ford, 43, didn't consider that a shortcoming, since several state Supreme Court justices didn't have such experience before they ascended to the high court.
A former Navy helicopter pilot, Ford has worked in state Attorney General Rob McKenna's office since 2005; before that he was attorney for the Builders Association of Washington. Last year Ford was appointed open-government ombudsman for the attorney general.
He said Tuesday night that he has yet to make any decisions about future runs for office.
Hunt gratified
Hunt, 60, said she was gratified and proud of the work her campaign volunteers did, in her first contested race since she ran for District 2 appeals court judge the first time in 1996.
That year, her opponent was Olympia attorney Tom Bjorgen; she said he later became her supporter, and she had no opponent in the 2002 election.
At a June candidates' forum in Port Angeles, Hunt laid out her experience: She has judged at least 3,000 cases at the District 2 Court of Appeals, plus five as a substitute judge at the state Supreme Court.
She worked her way through law school as a clerk for a public defender.
Today, Aug. 20, is Hunt's ninth wedding anniversary, and usually she and husband Art Schmidt take a trip to Vancouver Island the preceding week.
They canceled that, however, so Hunt could continue campaigning.
Hunt is a Bainbridge Island resident, but hired Sequim resident and active Democratic Party member Pat Johansen as her campaign manager.
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Sequim-Dungeness Valley Editor Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-681-2391 or diane.urbani@peninsuladailynews.com.
Last modified: August 19. 2008 9:00PM