Two candidates have announced intentions to run for Clallam County Superior Court just one day after a veteran judge announced that he won’t seek re-election.
Clallam County Hearing Examiner Chris Melly and Forks District Court 2 Judge Eric Rohrer both told of their plans Thursday.
The four-year positions held by Judges S. Brooke Taylor, George L. Wood and Ken Williams are up for election Nov. 6., with the filing period for the election May 14-18.
On Wednesday, Williams announced he is retiring, Wood said he is running for re-election.
Taylor said he had not made a decision.
Which bench positions Melly and Rohrer will run is a question that is up in the air.
Rohrer, 54, said he will not run against an incumbent.
Melly, 60, also said he has not decided which position he will run for.
Rohrer has been a District Court judge for 11 years.
“I’m interested in taking on some new challenges,” Rohrer said.
He has appeared in Superior Court as an attorney and also served as a Superior Court commissioner, he said.
“I’ve done Superior Court enough to know I enjoy the work,” he added.
Rohrer has practiced law in Seattle, Wenatchee and Port Angeles and has tried cases in courtrooms throughout the state, he said in a statement.
“With over 25 years as an attorney and a decade as an elected judge, I am well-qualified to be a Superior Court judge, he said.
“I have extensive experience in Superior Court — both as an attorney and as a Superior Court commissioner.”
In 1991, after being hired as an assistant attorney general by former Attorney General Ken Eikenberry, Rohrer moved to Port Angeles to help establish the first local attorney general’s office, he said.
He served as lead attorney and manager of that office for 10 years, he said.
A Washington state native, he was appointed to the District Court 2 position previously held by current Supreme Court Justice Susan Owens and has been elected to that position three times.
He and his wife, Cari, a Forks Middle School teacher, live in the West End.
He is a past-president and board member of the Peninsula College Board of Trustees, chair-elect of the bipartisan Washington State Office of Civil Legal Aid Oversight Committee and board member of the Peninsula Trails Coalition.
Melly: hearing examiner
Melly’s half-time hearing examiner position focuses on land-use issues.
In December, Melly lost his district court commissioner job through budget cuts, he said.
“I enjoy the work, and I kind of miss being on the bench,” he said.
“I like the breadth of what goes on in Superior Court, and I think I’ll do a good job.”
Melly worked for 22 years for the Clallam County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, 17 of which was as chief deputy prosecutor.
He is a native of Audubon, N.J. and moved to Clallam County in 1983 after a three-year stint as a deputy prosecutor with the King County Prosecutor’s Office.
His wife, Mary Lou, is director of Peninsula College’s Educare Center, which provides a teaching a care environment for the children of students and faculty members.
They have two grown children, Jacob and Geoffrey.
Superior Court judges are paid 50-50 by the state and the county in which the court is located.
Superior Court judges earned $148,832 this year, according to the Washington Citizens Commission on Salaries for Elected Officials.
District Court judges are paid by the county, the commission said, and earned $141,710 in 2012.
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Senior Staff Writer Paul Gottlieb can be reached at 360-417-3536 or at paul.gottlieb@peninsuladailynews.com.
Managing Editor Leah Leach contributed to this story.
