Magneson for Judge

I have been volunteering on Dale Magneson's campaign for Judge in Kitsap County. Obviously I am supporting him in this election, and here I am going to explain why.

First let me start by clarifying that I really like his opponent, Judge Bassett. Bassett is the first openly gay Judge in Kitsap. He's heavily involved in issues around family, adoption, child advocacy, etc. In his personal life him and his husband do more than talk, they themselves take care of a number of children. There's every reason to like this guy, and if he wins, I believe we will be in good hands. (The two gripes I have are things he's rumored to have said, such as "how old are you" in response to meeting someone from Dale's campaign, and "they will let just about anyone run for judge" in a public comment indirectly referencing Dale, leading me to wonder if Bassett is slightly elitist.)

Though I like Bassett, Magneson is a superior candidate. On the big issues that there can be between two judges, the politics that can matter, such as for example "should there be anything like a drug court in your county," these two candidates are identical, and basically are both progressive. Here are the advantages Magneson has over Bassett:

• Magneson has more legal experience, practicing as a lawyer for 28 years.
• Magneson grew up in Bremerton.
• Magneson raised his family in Bremerton.
• Magneson is an Army Veteran.
• Magneson worked at PSNS.

Bassett in contrast is from Florida, and has lived in Bremerton for less than a decade since he last lived in Florida. He was appointed to serve here by the Governor, and was not elected. This is key: if Bassett wins, he will be the first openly LGBT judge elected in Kitsap, but that election will mean nothing if he is not strongly opposed. This is the main reason why I have no problem working hard against Bassett even though I like him as a candidate.

But here in lies the two problems about this campaign, and is why I am supporting Magneson so strongly:

1. In the otherwise progressive state of Washington, there is now a tendency for Judges to be APPOINTED instead of ELECTED, and then run in future campaigns UNOPPOSED or with very weak opposition. This is very bad for our democracy, which should be headed towards more direct democracy and less authoritarianism. ALL appointed judges must be strongly opposed, because this creates a win/win situation: a) if the appointed judge is defeated, then hip-hip-hooray, democracy has been restored. b) if the appointed judge is elected in the face of significant opposition, then the appointed judge has been forced to recognize that he is accountable to the will of the people, and hip-hip hooray, democracy is restored. (No thanks to Tim Eyman, radical right wing policies using loop holes of direct democracy have done significant damage to WA, and the progressive reaction is to have our democracy be more authoritarian, but process really matters here, and we must not give up our right to elect local judges!)
2. Local-vs.-from-Florida is a really big deal in Kitsap. If you have known anyone with legal troubles in Kitsap, there's some chance you may have heard complaints that the judges in this county are very disconnected from the local culture here. Your friend says one thing, the judge clearly hears another. At one point Bassett's website bragged that his father was a judge and Bassett has always aspired to be a judge. In no place in WA is that kind of father-to-son handing down of occupation considered a good thing. On the right wing conservatives see that as the worst kind of bureaucratic nepotism, and on the left wing we have a clear example of patriarchal authority being handed down from father to son. On the East Coast that kind of generational aspiration is respected, but here in WA that is pure heresy. This is an example of how Bassett does indeed have some cultural disconnect with this area (as do most of his peer judges in Kitsap.) 

As a lefty I have no sympathy at all for the 2nd Amendment, and if you ask me the so-called "militias" mentioned there in at the time were bounty hunters that collected escaped slaves. However a big part of why I live in Kitsap is our access to the out of doors, and guns are a critical part of Kitsap culture and why I love this place. As someone who is much more concerned about kids accidentally shooting themselves than I am about intentional gun violence, I feel responsible, safe, child friendly gun ownership needs to be encouraged in Kitsap (while IMHO more casual glocks-under-pillows "self-defense" gun ownership should be discouraged.) The most critical infrastructure for encouraging responsible gun ownership is shooting ranges - yet ours are under constant attack from our own county administration. They have been trying to shut down the all-VOLUNTEER Kitsap Rifle & Revolver Club for 17 years. This is just one example of how we need local judges who are sensitive to our local issues. Simply being on the correct side of the national political climate does not begin to prepare someone for the local issues here in Kitsap.

We need cultural diversity in the Kitsap Superior Court, and that means having one of our own, a person who grew up and raised their family here, who has worked in the Shipyard, who is a veteran, who understands our motivations and language we use, regardless of where we stand on the political spectrum.

Many see Magneson as a ideological black-box, finding his personal agenda hidden (unlike Basset, who's lifestyle implies very specific politics, to his credit.) I grew up with attending the same church congregation as Magneson, and attended Sunday school with his children for over a decade. Here's what I can tell you about his ideology:

• He strongly believes in getting his facts straight before making a decision or acting, and is quick to question assumptions.
• He believes that when someone has a job, they should do that job as good as they can, with the least amount of bias possible.
• He values political neutrality. 

I have talked with one of his sons recently, trying to figure out who Magneson would support as president in the general election. I personally am a hard-left post-Bearnie DNC platform supporter, while his son is a disillusioned former Trump supporter. After some interrogation, his son still has no idea who Magneson would support for president. We both know Magneson will vote, as he sees that as his duty, but we don't know who for. Normally in our congregation we grew up in being private about politics would suggest left-leaning views, however his son can't get a read, and neither can I, and most of those congregation members are fairly conservative.

I can't tell you where Magneson stands on the local shooting ranges, because Magneson's opinion will be based on what he finds out about the situation and law, should any such situation appear before him as judge, and it would not be based on his personal political biases - which he basically keeps under lock and key. Magneson cares a lot more about the PROCESS, the fairness, the justness, than he does about his personal political beliefs. Magneson's agenda IS political neutrality, with strong support for the political process, and his bias is simply having a local voice as a judge in Kitsap.