PORT ANGELES — Brian Coughenour, named last week as Clallam County’s newest Superior Court judge, will be sworn into office June 1.
Gov. Jay Inslee on Thursday announced his selection of Coughenour, a Superior Court commissioner and Lower Elwha Klallam Tribal Court chief judge since 2001.
The 40-year Port Angeles resident will replace Judge George L. Wood, who retires May 31.
Coughenour will be sworn in at 3 p.m. June 1 at the county courthouse in Superior Court Courtroom 1.
“Brian has served Clallam County in various roles for nearly 40 years,” Inslee said in a prepared statement.
“His dedication to the community is evident. His work ethic and commitment to the law will make him an excellent addition to the bench.”
The other applicants for Wood’s countywide position were Port Angeles lawyers Simon Barnhart, Harry Gasnick, John Hayden, Dave Neupert and Tim Davis.
Coughenour, whom Inslee interviewed for the position for about 30 minutes May 8, will fill out Wood’s four-year term and said Tuesday he plans to run for election to the position in 2016.
Coughenour, 64, will earn $156,363 until Sept. 1, when his salary will increase to $162,618.
He said Tuesday he has 15 years experience as a Superior Court commissioner, filling in for almost every kind of case except jury trials, which must be presided over by elected judges.
Coughenour also has served a judge pro tem in the Port Angeles- and West End county District Courts and in Juvenile, Family Therapeutic and Drug courts.
He said in an earlier interview that he gave up his law practice in 2013 to devote more time to judicial services.
“That’s one of the things I told Jay is, I will be able to hit the ground running,” Coughenour said Tuesday.
“That’s why I got the job, because I’m already prepared.”
Wood, 66, will retire midway through his 23rd year on the bench after first being elected in 1992 and being re-elected five times without an opponent.
He is the third Clallam County Superior Court judge to retire since 2012, when Ken Williams departed the bench and was replaced by Erik Rohrer, now the senior Superior Court judge.
Judge Brooke Taylor retired in 2013, three years before the end of his term, and was replaced by Melly, who also was appointed by Inslee.
When Inslee called Coughenour on May 13 to inform him of the appointment, Coughenour felt relieved, he said.
“I’ve been waiting for two months to find out if my life was going be the same or change dramatically.”
Coughenour moved to Port Angeles in 1975 after graduating from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, establishing his law practice in 1976.
A former two-term Clallam County Bar Association president, he received the top average score in three of four categories from among the six Superior Court applicants in a bar association poll.
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Senior Staff Writer Paul Gottlieb can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5060, or at pgottlieb@peninsuladaily news.com.