Tri-Cities senator and county prosecutor among 6 who want to be your next judge

A Washington state senator who’s been a lawyer for nearly 20 years is jumped in with a large pool of candidates to be the next Benton-Franklin Superior Court judge.

Sharon Brown declared her candidacy Friday, the final day of filing week, for the seat being vacated by Judge Bruce Spanner.

Five other attorneys — Franklin County Prosecutor Shawn Sant, Bronson Brown, Talesha “Tali” Sams, Shelley Ajax and Dave Petersen — have filed for the bicounty court’s Position 1.

The four-year, nonpartisan position comes with a salary just shy of $200,000 starting July 1.

Friday was the last day of candidate filing week.

The primary election is Aug. 4. Only two candidates will advance to the Nov. 3 general election.

Judge Bruce Spanner is retiring when his term ends this year. He was first elected in 2008 and is in his third term.

No one filed this week against any of the other six sitting Superior Court judges.

Sharon Brown was on the Kennewick City Council, serving as mayor pro-tem, when she was appointed in 2013 to the Washington Senate in the 8th Legislative District.

She replaced Jerome Delvin following his election to the Benton County Commission.

Brown has since been re-elected twice, most recently in 2018.

“I’ve been very proud of what I accomplished and I’m feeling like it’s time to pass that baton on and continue my public service as a judge, and I can be dedicated to applying the law as it’s written without bias,” Brown told the Tri-City Herald on Friday. “I really possess a skill set that’s truly unique among the candidates and it has prepared me to be an outstanding judge.”

The Kennewick Republican has held state Senate leadership posts and sponsored and championed legislation to support Hanford and local business diversification, funding education, addressing mental health needs and fighting human trafficking.

Brown was admitted to practice law in Washington state in June 2001, and has worked as a business attorney on mergers and acquisitions and construction law. She also attended the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution at Pepperdine University School of Law, which taught her to be “truly neutral in decision making.”

“I really believe that people shouldn’t serve in elected positions in perpetuity,” she said. “... I’m not ready to walk away from public service, so I wanted to find another area that I could serve but in a different capacity.”

If elected, she will have to step down from the Legislature.

Shawn Sant

Sant has been the elected Franklin County prosecutor for 9 1/2 years.

He previously worked as a public defender, a deputy prosecutor in his current office, a Prosser police officer and a reserve officer in Richland. He also is a former chairman of the Franklin County Republican Party.

Sant says he ran for prosecutor because he wanted to make a difference in the community where he has raised his family. Now, after leading the county’s largest law firm, he says his “well-rounded experience” gives him the edge to be on the bench.

“I have worked my entire professional life dedicated to public service ...,” Sant said. “I hope I have earned your trust to do the right thing even when it may be difficult or unpopular.”

Bronson Brown

Bronson Brown is the city attorney for West Richland and Union Gap, and general counsel for the Kennewick and Grandview school districts and the Benton Clean Air Authority. He also is a partner in the law firm of Bell, Brown & Rio.

Brown says he has handled cases at all levels of the judicial system, from county district court up to the state appellate court and federal court.

He currently is president of Benton-Franklin Legal Aid Society, an organization providing legal assistance to qualified, low-income people, and is a fluent Spanish speaker.

“I am running for judge to give back to my community and ensure we continue to enjoy the rights and freedoms given to us by the constitutions of this country and state,” Bronson Brown said in a news release. “I love this community and have been preparing most of my legal career to serve as a judge.”

“Our community deserves our judges to be honest, have the experience to understand the issues that come before them and act with integrity to make the right decisions,” he added.

Talesha “Tali” Sams

Sams has been an attorney with the state Department of Social and Health Services and Adult Protective Services since 2008.

She prosecutes people who have been accused of mental, physical and sexual abuse, along with the neglect and financial exploitation of vulnerable adults.

She has been a judge pro tem for King County District Court since 2015, and previously ran her own practice for seven years and worked as a deputy prosecutor in Adams County.

Sams is a Walla Walla native and a combat veteran who served four years as an Army ranger/paratrooper.

“A judge should be knowledgeable and experienced in all matters before them,” Sams said in a news release. “A judge should possess humility, a positive demeanor and temperament, and treat all those who come before the bench with respect and fairness, which I vow to do.”

Shelley Ajax

Ajax has been a criminal defense attorney for 10 years, while also handling pro bono work through Legal Aid. She has served on the organization’s board and as its president.

Ajax founded the Benton-Franklin Young Lawyers Division and litigated family law cases for the first five years of her career.

Before she was a lawyer, she worked at a civil law firm for 15 years and volunteered as a court-appointed special advocate/guardian ad litem helping to protect children.

“I would approach cases on the bench fairly and impartially based on the evidence and the law,” Ajax previously told the Tri-City Herald. “There is no influence from any special interest groups that would affect me in upholding the United States Constitution.”

Dave Petersen

Petersen served as the Pasco Municipal Court judge from 2011 into 2017.

He has worked as both a deputy prosecutor in Franklin County and in private practice during his 22-year legal career.

He also has done pro bono work with Legal Aid, in addition to participating in the annual National Adoption Day and coaching the mock trial team at Tri-Cities Prep.

“I believe, in addition to holding offenders accountable for their crimes, I have a duty to ensure that dignity and respect are fundamental beliefs employed by the court,” Petersen said.