PORT TOWNSEND — Gov. Gary Locke appointed Craddock Davis Verser on Friday to serve as Jefferson County’s third Superior Court judge.
Verser fills the seat vacated in January when Thomas J. Majhan died while undergoing cancer treatment.
Verser will serve until this fall, when voters go the polls to elect a judge.
Verser vowed to uphold many of the same standards and traditions set forth by Majhan and Judge William E. “Bill” Howard.
Locke interviewed Verser earlier this month, and said he came away from the meeting feeling confident that Verser was the man for the job.
“Our citizens deserve the best, the brightest and the hardest working judges,” Locke said during a swearing in ceremony inside the historic Superior Courtroom in Port Townsend.
Verser, 54, got the nod over Michael Edward Haas, Karen Gates Hildt, William Charles “Chuck” Henry and Rebekah Ruth Ross.
The four other candidates were in attendance at the appointment and congratulated Verser on his selection for the $108,300 a year position.
Also present was Howard, the county’s first Superior Court judge, who took office about 20 years ago. Prior to that, Jefferson had shared judges with Clallam County.