Yakima County Prosecutor Jeff Sullivan makes Mark Sidran look like Abbie Hoffman. In 1979, Sullivan required rape victims to take lie-detector tests, backing off only when he caught flak for it. He's also been a relentless supporter of three-strikes laws, which have a tendency in this state to lock up the petty criminals along with the felons--for LIFE. And he once instructed Yakima cops to ignore a state supreme court ruling that defined the rights of criminal suspects during routine encounters with police. So, like, vote for Susan Owens, okay? She's a relative unknown from Clallam County, but she's passionate about gender and child-welfare issues, and she's already got experience as a judge. Oh, and she's not a flaming asshole--something we can't say about her opponent.
State Supreme Court Position 9Vote for TOM CHAMBERS
We endorsed Tom Chambers in the primaries, and we see no reason to change our opinion for the general election. This Capitol Hill attorney has everything we want in a judge. He's got plenty of experience; he's respected by his colleagues for his sharp legal mind; and he's spent his career suing big, bad companies--particularly insurance companies. As for his opponent, goofball Jim "Dig My Last Name!" Foley, he seems like a nice guy to drink with, but he doesn't seem like a state supreme court judge.
King County Superior Court Position 11Vote forROBERT S. BRYAN
Why Bryan? Because no matter how often the ambitious, tough-as-nails prosecutor Catherine Shaffer tries to play it, she just can't match Bryan's experience. What's more, Shaffer's slickness disturbs us. During an interview with her before the primaries, she was mostly pitching conservative issues--especially feel-good victims' rights measures, which make it difficult for the accused to have one of those fair trials they're constitutionally entitled to. But when we chatted with her for our general-election endorsement, she talked straight out of the Stranger Election Death Squad's issues bible. She buried her most conservative tendencies in the hope of portraying herself as a fair-minded moderate. We're not falling for it, Cathy. Vote for Bryan.
