Attorney who fought to open schools during COVID files against newest Tri-Cities judge

A Kennewick attorney has filed to run against the newest judge on the Benton-Franklin Superior Court bench.

George Cicotte will face Judge Norma Rodriguez in November.

Cicotte, an employee benefits attorney, has been practicing law in the Tri-Cities for more than 25 years with a focus in corporate, employment, government, labor and tax law.

“I feel like I have the skills to do the job well,” Cicotte told the Herald. “My outlook on the issues is more in line with the majority of the Tri-Cities than the judge that Gov. Inslee appointed.”

Inslee appointed Rodriguez to replace Judge Cameron Mitchell, who retired one year into a new four-year term.

That made her the local court system’s first Latina judge on the Superior Court bench in the Tri-Cities.

Now, she is running to serve the remaining two years of Mitchell’s term.

Two nonpartisan judicial positions on the Superior Court were up for election this year. Longtime family law judge Jacqueline Stam was named in July 2021 to replace Judge Carrie Runge, who retired after 17 years.

But no one filed last week to run against Stam. Cicotte and Rodriguez filed for the other post.

Benton-Franklin Superior Court has seven 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.

Partisan politics

Cicotte, who is no stranger to politics, said several people urged him to run for Rodriguez’s position.

He ran for Congress as a Republican, and joined with a group of attorneys who wanted to overturn a Kennewick School Board decision to keep middle and high schools closed during the COVID pandemic.

While he has been involved in partisan politics, Cicotte said he will remain impartial as a judge.

Cicotte, a father of seven, has practiced law for more than 25 years, most of that time in the Tri-Cities.

He also has spent time as president of the Blue Mountain Council for the Boy Scouts of America.

“I have watched him on numerous occasions strike the perfect balance between high expectations, accountability and justice with a forgiving heart filled with compassion and understanding,” CEO Brett T. Bybee wrote in his endorsement of Cicotte.

Rodriguez a mother of five, drew strong support for her appointment to the seat, including from retired Superior Court Judge Dennis Yule.

“I think she really exemplifies what we always hope for in a judge, and she’s had a lot of experience,” he told the Herald at the time.

Rodriguez started practicing law in Kennewick 28 years ago, and founded her own general practice firm largely dealing with criminal defense, personal injury and Labor and Industries disputes.

Previous history in politics

Cicotte last ran for office eight years ago when several Republican candidates sought to replace longtime U.S. Rep. Doc Hastings when he retired from the 4th Congressional District.

Cicotte came in fifth in the primary in which Dan Newhouse and Clint Didier advanced to the general election. Cicotte later endorsed Didier who lost to Newhouse.

In 2020, Cicotte was part of a group of local attorneys who challenged a school board decision to immediately reopen middle and high school students during the COVID pandemic. The case was eventually dismissed.

Despite his involvement in party politics, he told the Herald, “The judge has to follow the law no matter what it is.”

Cicotte’s website cites support for public schools and respects a parent’s decisions about education.

Judge Rodriguez recently decided that recall charges filed against three Richland School Board members were legal under the law and could proceed to signature gathering.

Cicotte said he believes there was no connection between the recall issue and those encouraging him to run for office.

The recall effort is trying to remove the board members after they voted to make masks optional in defiance of Inslee’s proclamation.

The board members plan to assk the state Supreme Court to overrule Rodriguez’s decision.

This story was originally published May 25, 2022 at 5:00 AM.