In 2016, Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson was elected to a second term with no Republican even bothering to challenge him. He took 67 percent of the vote against a Libertarian.
Then came President Donald Trump’s inauguration.
Over the ensuing 3 1/2 years, Ferguson has emerged as a leading figure in the Democratic resistance to the Trump administration. His office has sued the administration 69 times, challenging immigration restrictions, environmental rollbacks and other policies.
Republicans have taken notice, and this year three GOP attorneys are competing in the Aug. 4 primary for a chance to take on Ferguson in November.
The attorneys, Mike Vaska, Matt Larkin and Brett Rogers, say Ferguson’s obsession with the Trump administration has come at the expense of local concerns, such as a rash of assaults at the King County courthouse and the takeover of six city blocks by protesters.
Safety is an issue
Vaska said the public-safety crisis at the courthouse — which led a King County Superior Court judge to order the temporary closure of the Third Avenue entrance in December — was the final “kick in the pants” that led him to challenge Ferguson.
“For me the issue in the race is: ‘Do you feel safer now than you did four years ago?’ ” Vaska said.
While the attorney general’s office does not manage local police and is rarely involved in criminal prosecutions, Vaska said if elected he would use the bully pulpit to bring together leaders and find solutions to such problems.
“I would say something publicly. This is unacceptable. It’s not just the facts, it’s the appearance that we can’t protect people seeking justice,” he said.
The courthouse entrance was closed after a rash of incidents of harassment and street violence outside the facility, capped by an unprovoked assault on an attorney and a bus driver.
Vaska, 59, who lives in Issaquah, has worked for the Seattle law firm Foster Garvey (formerly Foster Pepper) since 1984. He has been a leader in major civic initiatives, including Sound Transit’s light-rail project.
He also has chaired the Mainstream Republicans of Washington, a organization of moderate Republicans who have found themselves out of step with the Trump-era base of the GOP.
While states often wind up in legal disputes with the federal government, Vaska said Ferguson has unnecessarily politicized such lawsuits since Trump took office.
Larkin, 38, works as legal counsel for Romac, his family’s longtime manufacturing business in Bothell. The company, started by his grandfather, makes pipe-related products for water and sewer systems.
He said Ferguson’s lawsuits against the federal government are excessive in number. “We shouldn’t be focused on that Washington. We should be focused on this Washington,” he said.
Larkin said the homelessness crisis should be a priority. “Even the most liberal of my friends say it is out of control,” Larkin said.
The attorney general has “a very big podium,” he said, and could make that issue a priority. “The real root of the problem is we have got a mental illness problem and an addiction problem,” Larkin said.
Rogers, 50, a former Seattle police officer who now works for the department as a civilian managing the parking-enforcement unit, said he supports Trump and was motivated in part to run for office by Ferguson’s “obstructionist” lawsuits.
“Like Trump or hate Trump, he was duly elected. Just because you don’t like somebody’s policy doesn’t make that illegal,” he said.
While he has not raised as much money as his rivals, Rogers said he is banking on support from grassroots Republicans, and has been attending some rallies with Loren Culp, the conservative gubernatorial candidate and small-town police chief.
