Tri-City’s 1st minority judge retires after 18 years. 7 apply to replace him

Seven Tri-Cities attorneys have been interviewed by Gov. Jay Inslee’s general counsel about being the next Benton-Franklin Superior Court judge.

Judge Cameron Mitchell announced last month his retirement from the bicounty bench after serving nearly 18 years. It’s effective March 11.

His departure comes just over one year into a four-year term, which means Mitchell’s replacement will be appointed by the governor just as he was in 2004.

Mitchell, 63, declined to comment on his decision, telling the Tri-City Herald he will miss the amazing people he’s worked with but that it’s a good time to leave.

He is one of seven Superior Court judges, who handle civil and felony criminal cases, along with divorce, paternity and custody issues in the two counties. They make about $200,000 a year.

A Richland native, Mitchell worked in the Department of Energy’s legal department and as an assistant attorney general, before being appointed as a Hearings Examiner with the Washington state Department of Labor & Industries for the Board of Industrial Insurance Appeals.

Mitchell, who is Black, became the local judicial system’s first minority judge when he was selected by Gov. Gary Locke to replace retiring Judge Carolyn A. Brown, who had been the court’s first female judge.

In 2012, he received the Martin Luther King Jr. Spirit Award from Pasco-based Columbia Basin College. During the annual bell-ringing ceremony, Mitchell said he couldn’t think of a person whose legacy he would be more proud to be associated with than King.

Appointment

This will be Inslee’s second appointment to Benton-Franklin Superior Court in eight months.

Last summer, Inslee picked Jacqueline Stam — who was serving as a court commissioner — to replace Judge Carrie Runge following her retirement.

Mitchell was appointed six months after Runge became the sixth judge when the court expanded, and now he is leaving just seven months after her.

The candidates for the soon-to-be vacancy are: Shelley Ajax; Douglas McKinley; Norma Rodriguez; Diana Ruff; Talesha Sams; Jeffrey Sperline; and Alan Tindell.

Mike Faulk, the governor’s deputy communications director, said now that General Counsel Kathryn Leathers has interviewed all of the applicants, the candidate pool is being vetted.

“The goal is to have the governor announce an appointee later this month,” Faulk told the Herald.