Washington Supreme Court elections, 2016

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2016 State
Judicial Elections
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Part 1: Overview
Part 2: Supreme Courts
Part 3: Partisanship
Part 4: Changes in 2016

Three seats on the Washington State Supreme Court were on the general election ballot on November 8, 2016. A primary was held on August 2. These seats were held by Chief Justice Barbara Madsen, Justice Mary Yu, and Justice Charlie Wiggins heading into the election. Each justice elected to the court serves a six-year term.

HIGHLIGHTS
  • All three incumbents won re-election.
  • This was the first state supreme court election since the 1990s in which all incumbent candidates had challengers.[1] Frustration over the court's decision in school funding case McCleary v. Washington and in a subsequent decision barring state funding of charter schools as unconstitutional fueled challenges to all three incumbent justices.
  • General election candidates

    Justice, Position 1

    Yu Thumb.jpg Justice Mary Yu (Incumbent) (Winner)
    Current position: Justice, Washington State Supreme Court, 2014-2017
    Past experience: Judge, King County Superior Court, Washington

    Justice Mary Yu said on her campaign website, "I was appointed to the state Supreme Court on May 1, 2014, after serving as a King County trial court judge for over 14 years. I was subsequently elected to a two-year term, and I am now running for a full term in 2016. While on the trial court, I presided over a wide range of civil and criminal cases and hundreds of family law matters. The most important values for me as a trial judge were to treat everyone with respect and fairness, to approach each case with an open mind, to decide cases impartially and to understand that every decision I made impacted the lives of real people. As a Supreme Court Justice, I continue to hold those same values."[2]

    DeWolf Thumb.jpg David DeWolf (Defeated)
    Most recent position: Professor, Gonzaga Law School, 1991-2016
    Past experience: Attorney in private practice

    David DeWolf said on his campaign website, "I have the background, the skills, and the temperament to be a member of the Court. I have spent most of my career teaching lawyers-to-be about what the law is, and how their profession can serve the community. ...

    "I also have the temperament to decide cases fairly, based upon the law rather than my personal policy preferences. I am an independent thinker and my long list of publications would demonstrate that I haven't fallen for the 'group think' that often characterizes the ivory tower of higher education—and much of our political process today. But at the same time my students would tell you that although I made them think about controversial issues, I didn’t use my classroom to push my own ideological views. I would bring the same sense of fairness and restraint to my role as a Supreme Court Justice—to do my best to apply the law rather than what I think the law should be. To do otherwise is a violation of the oath that judges, including Supreme Court Justices, take when they put on a black robe.

    "The second reason I am running is related to the first: the Washington Supreme Court has made serious mistakes in performing its task as the final arbiter of the law in Washington. It has fallen into a form of 'group think' that makes it difficult to see the pitfalls in what appears to be an attractive course of action."[3]


    Justice, Position 5

    Madsen Thumb.jpg Chief Justice Barbara Madsen (Incumbent) (Winner)
    Current position: Justice, Washington State Supreme Court, 1993-2017
    Past experience: Judge, Seattle Municipal Court, Washington

    Chief Justice Barbara Madsen said on her campaign website, "I was first elected to the court in 1992. And in 2009, I was elected chief justice. I ran for the supreme court because I believe justice is more than a black robe. Justice means that judges understand the issues that people face in their everyday lives. After I joined the supreme court, I helped establish the Access to Justice Board, the Minority and Justice Commission and the Gender and Justice Commission, and the Commission on Children in Foster Care and the Interpreter Commission—all to improve the quality of justice for everyone in our state.

    "As a justice of the highest court, I have made a solemn commitment to listen carefully to the people who bring their most important problems to the court and to be fair and unbiased in judging those problems. In the supreme court, we take only the toughest cases. If the answers were easy, the case would not get to the supreme court. This means a justice must have broad legal experience and the courage to make the really hard and sometimes unpopular decisions. In a just court system, when people win their case, they have a right to have their judgment enforced, whether the defendant is the state of Washington in a school funding case or two neighbors with a property dispute. No one is above the law. And everyone is equal under the law. My record demonstrates courage and fair-minded judgment in the hundreds of decisions I have made on the court."[4]


    Zempel Thumb.jpg Greg Zempel (Defeated)
    Current position: Prosecutor, Kittitas County, Washington, 1995-Present
    Past experience: Deputy prosecutor, Kittitas County, Washington

    Greg Zempel said when asked why he is running, "I've been an elected prosecutor for 22 years, a prosecutor for 24, and a defense attorney before that for a couple of years. And over the years, I've just become more frustrated with the rulings of the court and in particular, Barbara Madsen. As a prosecutor, I’ve always put the emphasis on victims and communities, and time and again I’ve seen our court hand down opinions that really favor defendants to the detriment of victims. The second part of that is that law enforcement needs to have a court that gives clear guidelines so that we know where we’re going and what we can do. ... [T]oo often what we see is a court that will change case law and precedent—25-30 years that we’ve done it in a particular fashion, and boom, it’s overturned.

    "A case that really hits both of those points is IN RE: PRP of Andress (2002). It was a felony murder case where Justice Madsen was looking at felony murder statute, thought it was not fair, that it didn’t require a mental element. ... Rather than drawing the conclusion and saying, well, you know, it’s lawful to do it this way, what she said instead was we believe—and again her opinion—we believe that the legislation never intended to include an assault in a felony murder. So 35 years of prosecutors, law enforcement officers, trial court judges, defense attorneys, thinking this was law, including the legislature, boom, changed with the stroke of a pen. The legislature immediately in a special session said, 'This is wrong, it was always intended, it’s never not been intended, and we affirm it was intended.' The consequence was that 385 individuals convicted of felony murder were then turned back to the trial courts to sort out what you can do with them now. That’s one of the cases, but that emphasizes what’s been happening with this court."[5]


    Justice, Position 6

    Wiggins Thumb.jpg Justice Charlie Wiggins (Incumbent) (Winner)
    Current position: Justice, Washington State Supreme Court, 2011-2017
    Past experience: Attorney in private practice

    Justice Charlie Wiggins said on his campaign website, "You elected me in 2010, and I've spent the past six years upholding the values of the people of Washington. It has been an honor to sit on the court, protecting your constitutional rights, interpreting the law consistently with the words and intent of the legislature, and administering justice. ...

    "Six years ago, when I first asked for your vote, I promised I would decide cases impartially, independently, and with integrity. Impartially: treating everyone in court equally, applying the same rules to everyone. Independently: without regard to special interests, free of improper influence by anyone. With integrity: deciding cases honestly, without bending the law or misstating the facts. My record shows that I have kept my promise of impartiality, independence, and integrity. ...

    "Justice requires us to protect children, minorities, and the poor. That is why I am proud to have signed the McCleary decision, ordering the legislature to comply with Article 9, Section 1, of our state constitution, which declares that the paramount duty of the state is to amply provide for the education of our children."[6]


    Larson Thumb.jpg Judge Dave Larson (Defeated)
    Current position: Judge, Federal Way Municipal Court, 2008-2018

    Judge Dave Larson said on his campaign website, "Our state Supreme Court should be the most respected institution in our state government; unfortunately it’s become far too political and needs to return to being a neutral and respected defender of the law and constitution. This will be my first priority as your Justice."[7]

    Race background

    The 2016 election was the first since the 1990s in which all three state supreme court justices up for re-election faced opponents.[1] At least one justice in every election typically runs unopposed, but this year all three incumbents drew challengers. Republican state Representative Matt Manweller said he and other lawmakers actively recruited candidates to run against the justices.[1] This was partly because of the court's decisions in the long-running school funding case McCleary v. Washington, over which the court drew criticism from both Republicans and Democrats for holding the state in contempt of court, and in a separate case about the state funding of charter schools.

    Those in favor of replacing the justices said the court has overstepped its boundaries into legislation and policymaking and failed to respect the autonomy of the state legislature.[1] In the McCleary school funding case, the court both found the state government in contempt and fined the state $100,000 per day until the state complied with the court's orders.[8][9]

    In a separate case, the court ruled unconstitutional the state funding of charter schools right before those schools were set to open in 2015.

    Satellite spending

    The political action committee arm of the group Stand for Children spent $116,000 promoting the campaign of Greg Zempel, who challenged Chief Justice Barbara Madsen for her seat on the court.[10] Madsen authored the court's 2015 decision declaring Washington's charter schools, in their form at that time, unconstitutional. The legislature passed a new bill in 2016 that allowed charter schools to continue; opponents threatened to sue over this law as well.[10] Stand for Children's spending on Zempel's campaign was funded by several of the backers of charter schools who were opposed to the court's 2015 decision. The primary donors include Connie Ballmer, wife of former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer; Reed Hastings, founder and CEO of Netflix; and Vulcan Inc., owned by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen. Vulcan and Ballmer were also among the primary backers of the ballot initiative that paved the way for the charter schools.[10]

    Election results

    November 8 general election

    Incumbent Mary Yu defeated David DeWolf in the general election for the Washington Supreme Court, Position 1.
    Washington Supreme Court, Position 1, 2016
    Candidate Vote % Votes
    Green check mark transparent.png Mary Yu Incumbent 57.33% 1,577,495
    David DeWolf 42.67% 1,174,263
    Total Votes (100% reporting) 2,751,758
    Source: Washington Secretary of State Official Results
    Incumbent Barbara Madsen defeated Greg Zempel in the general election for the Washington Supreme Court, Position 5.
    Washington Supreme Court, Position 5, 2016
    Candidate Vote % Votes
    Green check mark transparent.png Barbara Madsen Incumbent 61.95% 1,679,786
    Greg Zempel 38.05% 1,031,698
    Total Votes (100% reporting) 2,711,484
    Source: Washington Secretary of State Official Results
    Incumbent Charlie Wiggins defeated Dave Larson in the general election for the Washington Supreme Court, Position 6.
    Washington Supreme Court, Position 6, 2016
    Candidate Vote % Votes
    Green check mark transparent.png Charlie Wiggins Incumbent 57.49% 1,535,554
    Dave Larson 42.51% 1,135,285
    Total Votes (100% reporting) 2,670,839
    Source: Washington Secretary of State Official Results

    August 2 primary election

    Incumbent Justice Barbara Madsen and challenger Greg Zempel defeated John Scannell and advanced to the November 8 general election.

    Washington Supreme Court Primary, Position 5, 2016
    Candidate Vote % Votes
    Green check mark transparent.png Barbara Madsen Incumbent 63.90% 759,475
    Green check mark transparent.png Greg Zempel 29.71% 353,149
    John Scannell 6.38% 75,849
    Total Votes (2000 of 2000 reporting: 100%) 1,188,473
    Source: Washington Secretary of State Official Results

    Endorsements

    The candidates received the following endorsements.[11][12][13][14][15]

    Key endorsements
    Mary Yu David DeWolf Barbara Madsen Greg Zempel Charlie Wiggins Dave Larson
    The Seattle Times Washington State Republican Party The Seattle Times Association of Washington Business Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO The Seattle Times
    Tri-City Herald Mainstream Republicans of Washington Tri-City Herald Association of General Contractors Washington Education Association Tri-City Herald
    American Federation of Teachers Washington State Washington Education Association Stand.Org Washington Federation of State Employees
    NARAL Pro-Choice Washington Washington State Federation of Democratic Women Washington State Farm Bureau Washington State Council of Fire Fighters
    National Women’s Political Caucus of WA Women's Political Caucus of the Northwest Washington State Dairy Pac Washington Conservation Voters
    Washington Conservation Voters Washington Conservation Voters We Believe - We Vote Washington State Patrol Troopers Association
    Washington Education Association Former Governor Christine Gregoire Washington Food Industry Association NARAL Pro-Choice Washington
    Washington State Association for Justice/Justice for All PAC Washington State Council of Fire Fighters Washington Retail Association Washington's Paramount Duty
    Washington State Council of Fire Fighters Washington State Labor Council Law Enforcement Administrators of Washington Current Democratic Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson
    Washington State Labor Council Washington State Patrol Troopers Association Current Republican Washington Secretary of State Kim Wyman All sitting Washington State Supreme Court justices
    Washington State Patrol Troopers Association All sitting Washington State Supreme Court justices The News Tribune
    Governor Jay Inslee The News Tribune
    Former Governor Christine Gregoire
    Former Governor Gary Locke
    All sitting Washington State Supreme Court justices
    The News Tribune


    Campaign finance

    The campaign finance data below shows the candidates' contributions and expenditures through September 2016.


    Individual candidate campaign finance details

    Mary Yu Campaign Finance, 2016
    Contributions Expenditures Cash on Hand Debt
    $272,534 $133,242 $139,292 $11,204
    Source: Washington Public Disclosure Commission
    David DeWolf Campaign Finance, 2016
    Contributions Expenditures Cash on Hand Debt
    $78,874 $45,224 $33,650 $983
    Source: Washington Public Disclosure Commission
    Barbara Madsen Campaign Finance, 2016
    Contributions Expenditures Cash on Hand Debt
    $67,300 $12,279 $55,021 $6,000
    Source: Washington Public Disclosure Commission
    Greg Zempel Campaign Finance, 2016
    Contributions Expenditures Cash on Hand Debt
    $85,032 $42,943 $42,089 $5,000
    Source: Washington Public Disclosure Commission
    Charlie Wiggins Campaign Finance, 2016
    Contributions Expenditures Cash on Hand
    $172,186 $70,909 $101,277
    Source: Washington Public Disclosure Commission
    Dave Larson Campaign Finance, 2016
    Contributions Expenditures Cash on Hand
    $91,677 $49,764 $41,913
    Source: Washington Public Disclosure Commission



    BP-Initials-UPDATED.png The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may not represent all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer, and campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.


    Main article: Political spending not controlled by candidates or their campaigns

    Groups unaffiliated with candidates or campaigns—such as political action committees, super PACs, nonprofit public welfare organizations, and labor unions—often spend money to influence the outcome of an election. This satellite spending can take the form of express advocacy, which encourages votes for or against a candidate, or issue advocacy, which supports broad political or social issues. Some groups are restricted on which kind of advocacy they can engage in based on their tax status.

    Disclosure regulations vary from state to state and vary based on type of organization, complicating the process of determining a comprehensive picture of all spending in a given election.

    For example, nonprofits are not always required to disclose their donors to the government; they submit financial information to the federal government through regular tax filings with the Internal Revenue Service, which are only publicly available through a Freedom of Information Act request. Other organizations are required to report election expenditures to a state elections division.

    Ads

    Ballotpedia was unable to locate online campaign advertisements for this race.

    Political composition

    Washington's supreme court justices are elected in nonpartisan elections. Prior to the 2016 elections, three of the nine current justices were appointed by Democratic governors to fill terms left by retired justices: Debra Stephens, Steven Gonzalez, and Mary Yu.

    Independent Chief Justice Barbara Madsen
    Independent Justice Charles W. Johnson
    Independent Justice Debra Stephens
    Independent Justice Mary Fairhurst
    Independent Justice Susan Owens
    Independent Justice Steven Gonzalez
    Independent Justice Mary Yu
    Independent Justice Charlie Wiggins
    Independent Justice Sheryl McCloud

    Selection

    See also: Judicial selection in Washington

    The rules for electing justices to the court are set out in Article IV of the Washington Constitution and in Chapter 2.06 of the Revised Code of Washington. The Article calls for nine justices to be elected to six-year terms in nonpartisan elections. In the case of a vacancy, the replacement justice is appointed by the governor.[16]

    Qualifications

    To be considered a qualified candidate to serve on the Washington State Supreme Court, a person must be licensed to practice law in Washington, as laid out in Section 17 of Article IV.

    Justices must also retire from service at the end of the calendar year that he or she turns 75, according to Section 3(a) of Article IV of the state constitution. The state legislature is given the leeway under the constitution to reduce the retirement age to 70 should they see fit to do so.[17]

    Additionally, according to Section 15 of Article IV, justices of the court are ineligible to serve in any other form of public employment during their term on the court, nor, according to Section 19, are they allowed to practice law in any Washington state court during their tenure on the court.[16]

    Chief justice

    The chief justice serves as the court's chief spokesperson, presiding over the court’s public hearings and serving as the administrative head of the state’s trial and appellate court system. The chief justice also chairs the Board for Judicial Administration (BJA), which is the policy-setting group of the state judiciary.[18] Until 1995, the chief justice was determined through a rotation system. In 1995, the voters of the state passed a constitutional amendment changing this system to one where the chief justice is elected by the other justices. That same amendment changed the term of the chief justice from two to four years.[17]

    Barbara Madsen is the current chief justice of the court. She was sworn in on January 11, 2010, to fill the remainder of Gerry Alexander's term. Madsen is only the second woman to fill the role of chief justice on the Washington State Supreme Court.

    State profile

    Demographic data for Washington
     WashingtonU.S.
    Total population:7,160,290316,515,021
    Land area (sq mi):66,4563,531,905
    Race and ethnicity**
    White:77.8%73.6%
    Black/African American:3.6%12.6%
    Asian:7.7%5.1%
    Native American:1.3%0.8%
    Pacific Islander:0.6%0.2%
    Two or more:5.2%3%
    Hispanic/Latino:12%17.1%
    Education
    High school graduation rate:90.4%86.7%
    College graduation rate:32.9%29.8%
    Income
    Median household income:$61,062$53,889
    Persons below poverty level:14.4%11.3%
    Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015)
    Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Washington.
    **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

    Presidential voting pattern

    See also: Presidential voting trends in Washington

    Washington voted for the Democratic candidate in all seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.

    Pivot Counties (2016)

    Ballotpedia identified 206 counties that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012. Collectively, Trump won these Pivot Counties by more than 580,000 votes. Of these 206 counties, five are located in Washington, accounting for 2.43 percent of the total pivot counties.[19]

    Pivot Counties (2020)

    In 2020, Ballotpedia re-examined the 206 Pivot Counties to view their voting patterns following that year's presidential election. Ballotpedia defined those won by Trump won as Retained Pivot Counties and those won by Joe Biden (D) as Boomerang Pivot Counties. Nationwide, there were 181 Retained Pivot Counties and 25 Boomerang Pivot Counties. Washington had four Retained Pivot Counties and one Boomerang Pivot County, accounting for 2.21 and 4.00 percent of all Retained and Boomerang Pivot Counties, respectively.

    More Washington coverage on Ballotpedia

    Recent news

    The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'Washington Supreme Court election 2016' OR 'Washington Supreme Court'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

    See also

    Washington Judicial Selection More Courts
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    Courts in Washington
    Washington Court of Appeals
    Washington Supreme Court
    Elections: 202520242023202220212020201920182017
    Gubernatorial appointments
    Judicial selection in Washington
    Federal courts
    State courts
    Local courts

    External links

    Footnotes

    1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 The News Tribune, "Controversial school-funding rulings prompt crowded Supreme Court races," June 3, 2016
    2. Retain Justice Mary Yu Supreme Court Pos. 1, "Home," accessed September 22, 2016
    3. David DeWolf Supreme Court Justice, "Why I'm Running," accessed September 22, 2016
    4. Re-Elect Chief Justice Madsen, "About," accessed September 22, 2016
    5. The Queen Anne & Magnolia News, "'All people should be treated fairly under our constitution and in front of this court' A conversation with state Supreme Court candidate Greg Zempel," October 4, 2016
    6. Re-Elect Justice Charlie Wiggins Supreme Court Position 6, "Videos and Audio," accessed September 22, 2016
    7. Judge Dave Larson for Supreme Court Justice, "About," accessed September 22, 2016
    8. The Seattle Times, "Contempt ruling ups ante in fight to fund public schools," September 12, 2014
    9. The Seattle Times, "School funding back on table as court fines state $100,000 a day," August 13, 2015
    10. 10.0 10.1 10.2 The News Tribune, "Charter-school backers spending $116,000 to try to unseat state Supreme Court justice," July 28, 2016
    11. Retain Justice Mary Yu Supreme Court Pos. 1, "Endorsements," accessed September 23, 2016
    12. Re-Elect Chief Justice Madsen, "Endorsements for 2016," accessed September 23, 2016
    13. Greg Zempel for Supreme Court Justice, "Endorsements," accessed September 23, 2016
    14. Re-Elect Justice Charlie Wiggins Supreme Court Position 6, "Endorsements," accessed September 23, 2016
    15. The News Tribune, "We endorse: Return three justices to Supreme Court bench," October 4, 2016
    16. 16.0 16.1 Washington State Courts, "Guide to Washington Courts: The Supreme Court," accessed October 30, 2014
    17. 17.0 17.1 American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Washington," accessed October 30, 2014
    18. Washington State Court, "Washington Supreme Court Elects Chief Justice," November 7, 2008
    19. The raw data for this study was provided by Dave Leip of Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.