Lawyer announces candidacy for Washington Court of Appeals
Published 12:01 am Friday, April 6, 2012
OLYMPIA — Thomas Bjorgen has announced that he is a candidate for judge on the state Court of Appeals in a district that includes the North Olympic Peninsula.
Bjorgen, 63, is running for a seat in the court’s Division II, District 2, now held by Judge David Armstrong, who is retiring.
This seat is elected by voters in Clallam, Jefferson, Grays Harbor, Kitsap, Mason and Thurston counties.
Pam Loginsky, a staff attorney with the Washington Association of Prosecuting Attorneys, and Tom Weaver, a Bremerton attorney, also are running.
Bjorgen, who lives near Olympia, is the hearing examiner for Thurston County and the cities of Olympia and DuPont, where he judges legal disputes about property development.
“The decisions of appeals courts shape our communities in profound ways,” Bjorgen said in a statement.
“Whether a case involves civil rights, criminal charges, government authority or property law, these courts are the final backstop to protect the rights and enforce the responsibilities of all citizens.”
Bjorgen vowed to “decide cases based on the facts and the law, and apply the law fairly and equally for everyone, regardless of who you are, whom you know or how much money you have.”
“Judges must be above politics or special interests,” he added.
Kicking off campaign
He plans to kick off the campaign with a dinner from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Monday at Mercato Ristorante, 111 Market St. N.W. in Olympia.
Among those endorsing Bjorgen are Judge Marlin Appelwick of the state Court of Appeals, Division I; Elaine Houghton, retired judge from the state Court of Appeals, Division II; ex- state Supreme Court Justice Phil Talmadge; former state Secretary of State Ralph Munro; former Thurston Superior Court Judge Daniel Berschauer; state Sen. Karen Fraser, D-Lacey; and state Rep. Sam Hunt, D-Olympia.
Also, Thurston County Commissioners Sandra Romero and Karen Valenzuela, Thurston County Treasurer Shawn Myers, Olympia Mayor Stephen Buxbaum, Lacey Mayor Virgil Clarkson, former Olympia Mayor Bob Jacobs, and former Olympia Mayor Mark Foutch.
In his 33-year legal career, Bjorgen worked as state assistant attorney general, as counsel in the state Legislature and as a senior deputy prosecuting attorney for Thurston County.
Argued federal cases
He has written briefs for cases before the U.S. Supreme Court and argued cases before other federal courts, the state Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals.
Later, he went into private practice, representing public and private clients and serving as a legal mediator and arbitrator.
Bjorgen was born in Yakima, and while growing up, he worked in the orchards and packing plants.
He earned a bachelor’s and a law degree from Washington State University.
Before getting his law degree, he worked as a park ranger at Mount Rainier and taught in public schools in Norway.
He has served on the board of the Nisqually River Basin Land Trust and the Washington Environmental Council, helped establish the Volunteer Legal Clinic in Olympia, has been active in state and local bar associations.
He also was a longtime volunteer at a local kitchen for the homeless.
He is married to Fay Wright Bjorgen.
