Douglas County District Court candidates appear at Pybus

WENATCHEE - Douglas County District Court Judge candidates incumbent Eric Biggar and opponent Wenatchee area attorney Robert Hunter appeared together at Pybus Public Market here Thursday, Oct. 18 in an evening question and answer forum held in the community room.

Wenatchee Valley Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Shiloh (Schauer) Burgess introduced the evening's event to a small crowd of partisan observers and announced the affair was not going to have a debate-type format, but would simply be an educational one.
Each candidate was given a chance to introduce themselves and also give a closing statement. In between were a few softball questions regarding experience and background information.

Biggar told the audience about his Waterville roots and how he was endorsed      by the Douglas County and Chelan County sheriff's departments as well as many former judges. He listed his experiences while on the bench and brought a large contingent of family, friends and supporters with him to the event. They wore T-shirts and Biggar placards were peppered throughout the room. His table offered bottled water to those with a thirst for same.

Hunter had none of the above, but he did explain his 20 years of knowledge as a practicing attorney in the Wenatchee Valley area as well as his time spent at other law firms honing his trade. He runs his own business in East Wenatchee and specializes in personal injury involving auto and truck collisions, wrongful death, real estate law and commercial litigation regarding contracts, collections and advertising law.

Hunter told the crowd about his Detroit roots, love of the law and love for his adopted Wenatchee Valley and Douglas County home. He also mentioned a couple of cases he was involved with and how he helped clients achieve justice in product liability cases. Hunter became emotional and choked up at one point while explaining how his heart went out to victims of circumstances in cases he was involved with.

During their short time on stage the two were amiable towards one another and did not utter any disparaging comments.

The affair was likely the last group event involving judicial candidates before the Nov. 6 general election.

Judges in Washington state run for office as non-partisans, meaning they do not use party affiliations during their campaigns and are expected to be unbiased towards members of either party while on the bench.

Of course judges are always expected to do that regardless of whether or not they run on Republican or Democratic platforms in any state.

Unfortunately in the eyes of some, when a seat on the bench becomes vacant, the governor gets to appoint the judge of his choice and that most probably means an attorney that meets with the governor's own personal political views.

That said, this November's general election is viewed by many to be a referendum on President Donald Trump. Whether public opinion will filter down ticket to a district court race is highly unlikely, especially given the unpartisan rules of the state.