Tri-Cities lawyer plans campaign for longtime judge’s seat

A Tri-City lawyer wants to be the next Benton-Franklin Superior Court judge after spending 15 years defending criminals and helping give a voice to those who can’t afford legal aid.

Shelley Ajax is seeking the seat currently held by Judge Bruce Spanner.

Ajax filed with the state Public Disclosure Commission back in June, but at the time said the specific position was not clear.

There are seven elected judges on the Benton-Franklin Superior Court bench.

Ajax decided to go public with her campaign one week after Spanner announced his retirement in a letter to the Benton Franklin Counties Bar Association.

Spanner was first elected in 2008. He is in his third four-year term, which ends this December.

Ajax is the first to state her intent with the PDC for a bicounty judicial seat.

Candidate filing is May 11 to 15, with the primary election Aug. 4. The general election is Nov. 3.

All seven judicial positions will be up this year.

Ajax noted Tuesday that it is a non-partisan position, and she is not a politician or affiliated with either party.

“I would approach cases on the bench fairly and impartially based on the evidence and the law,” she said. “There is no influence from any special interest groups that would affect me in upholding the United States Constitution.”

Longtime public service

Ajax has been practicing law since 2005, but she points out that she has been a longtime public service volunteer. Being a judge would give her the chance to continue that service to the community, she said.

The campaign manager for Ajax’s election committee is Craig Matheson, who was a Benton County District Court judge for six years and a Superior Court judge for 20. He retired in 2013.

Ajax started her career in the legal field working at a civil law firm for 15 years. She was not yet a lawyer, but volunteered as a court-appointed special advocate/guardian ad litem helping to protect children.

Following her husband’s sudden death, Ajax went to Washington State University Tri-Cities, followed by Gonzaga University School of Law, all while raising her young children.

After graduation, she returned to the Tri-Cities from Spokane, started her own law firm and founded the Benton-Franklin Young Lawyers Division. She litigated family law cases for years, then moved over to criminal work 10 years ago.

Ajax served first on the board, and then as president of the Benton-Franklin Legal Aid Society for years, and has been honored both by local, regional and statewide organizations for her dedication to pro bono work.

“With my decades of legal experience and volunteer service to the Tri-City community, which I love,” she said, “I am excited and humbled by the chance to continue to serve the best interests of our community as a Benton-Franklin County Superior Court judge.”