Fairgrieve leads Clark County Bar Association poll

The Clark County Bar Association has published poll results showing how some of its members weigh each judicial appointment applicant vying to succeed Superior Court Judge Barbara Johnson.

Lawyers Camara Banfield, John Fairgrieve, Denise Lukins, Christopher Ramsay and Bob Vukanovich have applied to Gov. Jay Inslee’s office to take over Johnson’s seat after she retires March 31.

The plurality of the 194 poll respondents — 34.54 percent — favor Fairgrieve, 54, of Vancouver, Clark County’s chief deputy prosecutor who has worked in the prosecutor’s office for nearly 20 years. More members consider him exceptionally well-qualified in terms of legal ability and relevant experience, temperament and integrity than any other candidate.

Vukanovich comes in second with 28.87 percent of the overall vote. The 57-year-old Battle Ground resident practices criminal and family law out of his private law office in Vancouver. The third choice, Banfield, trails Vukanovich by about 11 percentage points. The senior deputy prosecutor, who supervises the Children’s Justice Center, garnered 17.53 percent of respondents’ votes.

“I just think it’s nice for people to see how candidates stack up in each category,” said Lisa Darco, the bar association’s office manager.

The poll was distributed after a judicial forum held Feb. 9. The forum almost didn’t happen because of a misunderstanding: The bar association believed the governor’s office didn’t want its members to hold the forum or offer poll results. Darco said they cleared the air and determined that the governor’s office takes a wide swath of information and opinions into consideration when selecting an appointee.

“I think we’re the only county that does a preference poll,” Darco said. In Inslee’s past two judicial appointments, he selected Bernard Veljacic and Derek Vanderwood, who were not the bar association’s top poll choices.

The governor’s office, Darco said, anticipates announcing a decision in mid-March. The bar association hopes to secure the appointment before Johnson’s retirement, as vacancies put pressure on the judges. Johnson’s departure follows a wave of Superior Court judges who have left or retired from their positions in the last year.

The county has 10 judges in Superior Court, which hears felony and larger civil matters. Superior Court judges earn $156,363 per year, plus benefits.

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