PORT TOWNSEND — Jefferson County Superior Court Judge Craddock D. Verser, who was absent from the bench for several months while undergoing cancer treatment, has announced he will seek a third term as judge.
“I’m feeling great, and I love my job,” Verser said Friday.
“The doctors have given me a clean bill of health verbally, so I’m going to run for another term.”
Verser, 62, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in July and underwent treatment in Seattle. Visiting judges from other counties and pro tems substituted for him until he returned to the bench earlier this year.
Verser’s initial treatment was in Seattle, but he will continue with radiation treatments in Sequim.
He said that will make it easier for him to continue treatment while serving as judge.
Verser was appointed to the bench by Gov. Gary Locke in 2002 to succeed Thomas Majhan, who died of cancer while in office in 2002.
Voters elected Verser to the position in 2004 as well as in 2008, when he ran unopposed.
Two incumbent county commissioners have not announced their plans for the November general election.
Commissioners David Sullivan and Phil Johnson, both first elected in 2004, would be seeking third terms should they decide to run.
On Friday, neither would commit to running again.
“You’ll be the first to know,” Johnson told the Peninsula Daily News.
“You’ll have to be patient,” Sullivan said.
Candidate filing will begin in two weeks, on May 14.
Candidates can file all week, and it is not unprecedented for candidates to wait until the last minute.
In 2004, Johnson declared his candidacy at 4:30 p.m. the last day of the filing deadline and went on to get 58 percent of the vote, defeating incumbent Dan Titterness.
The commissioner race is nonpartisan, though both Johnson and Sullivan are identified as Democrats.
Jefferson County Republican Chairman Ron Gregory said his party is “talking to several people” about challenging Johnson and Sullivan, but no one had committed to the race.
Gregory expects he will recruit a candidate but said it was “unusual” that no one had announced so close to the filing deadline.
The commissioner’s job pays $63,925 and requires a $639 filing fee.
Commissioner John Austin, who was re-elected in 2010, said many candidates won’t want to pay the fee if they aren’t confident they can win the election.
“You have two guys who have each won two consecutive elections,” Austin said.
“What are the odds that someone can defeat them?”
Jefferson County Democratic Committeeman Bill Miller said he expected both Johnson and Sullivan to run again, and they could be unopposed.
According to the Auditor’s Office, there have been no unopposed election races on the county commissioner level since 1976, when Commissioners B.G. Brown and A.M. “Bud” O’Meara both won by acclimation.
The primary is Aug. 7, while the general election is Nov. 6.
If more than two candidates file for a contest, the two top vote-getters will advance to the general.
If there are only two candidates, the primary is nonbinding.
If there is only one candidate, he or she will win the election, unless a majority or write-in votes support another candidate.
Austin thinks that if Johnson or Sullivan is unopposed, they will still campaign.
“A lot of times when a candidate is unopposed, they will still attend campaign forums and meet the public just to let people know how they stand on the issues,” he said.
The only other county race on the ballot this year is for Jefferson County Public Utility District commissioner.
Incumbent Wayne King has declared his intent to run for another six-year term.
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Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
