PORT ANGELES — Gov. Jay Inslee this week selected Brent Basden of Port Angeles to replace outgoing Superior Court Judge Chris Melly, who is resigning Dec. 31.
Basden, the full-time county Superior Court commissioner, will fill out the remaining two years of Melly’s four-year term in an appointment that becomes effective Jan. 1.
Basden, 52, will run for the position in 2020, he said Thursday after Inslee’s office announced the appointment.
He was one of eight candidates vying for the $172,571-a-year position and the only one interviewed by Inslee, Inslee’s spokeswoman said.
Basden said Inslee offered him the job Wednesday during a half-hour, one-on-one interview at the governor’s office in Olympia.
“I gladly accepted,” Basden said.
“I’m just sort of humbled and appreciative of his confidence and sort of filled with a desire to be able to fulfill the responsibility that he was placing in me, to be able to rise to the challenge that this office holds.”
Basden, who as court commissioner adjudicates juvenile and family law cases, said his priorities as one of three county Superior Court judges will include exploring how technology can enhance access to the judicial system, and considering with various stakeholders the establishment of a mental health court.
A mental health court was championed by recently re-elected Prosecuting Attorney-Coroner Mark Nichols, Basden noted.
“I worked toward developing a family therapeutic court over the last 10 years,” Basden said, stressing the need for consensus.
“I learned valuable lessons working on that.”
Basden and his wife, Charline, are the parents of seven children, four of whom are adults. The others are 12, 15 and 17. They live in Port Angeles.
Basden, a Houston, Texas native and 1984 Port Angeles High School graduate, earned his undergraduate and law degrees at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah.
He was a private-practice attorney in Port Angeles from 1994-2008, when he was appointed court commissioner by Superior Court Judges Ken Williams, Brooke Taylor and George L. Wood.
Superior Court Judge Brian Coughenour, faced Thursday with Melly’s and Basden’s impending departures, said Thursday he wants to expedite the process of putting out a notice of vacancy for Basden’s position.
If Superior Court Judge Erik Rohrer wins the part-time West End District Court 2 race against John Black in the Nov. 6 election, it creates another vacancy on Superior Court as of the end of the year unless Inslee makes another appointment in time.
“Everything is in flux,” Coughenour said.
“Until [the election] is certified, I’m not presuming anything.
“If Rohrer wins in Forks and with Melly quitting, the decision as to who the court commissioner will be will pretty much be between me and Brent.”
Insleee spokeswoman Tara Lee said Inslee’s legal counsel and deputy legal counsel interviewed Basden and the other seven candidates — Harry Gasnick, Steve Robins, Carol Mortensen, Lisa Dublin, Michele Devlin, April King and Steve Johnson — before recommending Basden to replace Melly.
“It seems like he just stood out as the best one,” Lee said, citing Basden’s legal experience, work in Superior Court and roots in the community.
Lee said the applicants for Melly’s position likely will be among those considered by Inslee to fill a position that could be vacated by Rohrer.
The selection process also will be open to other candidates, Lee said.
“The governor’s office will review all the applications and try to move the process along to best serve the community,” she said in an email.
On Thursday, Basden presided over his last annual National Adoption Day ceremonies in the family court courtroom, a duty he has happily performed for the last seven years.
Recalling the event later Thursday, he cited one of his cardinal rules.
“I’m a believer in not crying because it’s over but smiling because it happened,” Basden said.
“I fully intend to continue to be involved in the work of the court with families and juveniles and in a slightly different role in that, obviously.
“It’s a passion, and that’s not going to go away with the change in responsibilities.”
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Senior Staff Writer Paul Gottlieb can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 55650, or at pgottlieb@peninsuladailynews.com.
