Holm faces party scrutiny

Political affiliation announcement is forbidden

By Jeremy Pawloski | The Olympian • Published June 12, 2008

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Thurston County Prosecuting Attorney Ed Holm, who is running for Thurston County Superior Court judge, might have violated the state's code for judicial conduct when he described his and his opponent's political affiliations.

In a story on Page A1 in Saturday's Olympian, Holm described his philosophy as being different from his opponent's because "I'm a Democrat. I think he's more of a right-wing Republican."

Holm's opponent, Superior Court Judge Gary Tabor, responded in the story that judicial races in Washington are nonpartisan.

Canon 7 of the Washington's code for judicial conduct states, "Judges shall refrain from political activity inappropriate to their judicial office." It continues, "(1) Judges or candidates for election to judicial office shall not: ... (e) identify themselves as members of political party, except as necessary to vote in an election."

Holm said Wednesday that his comment was in response to a reporter's repeated requests that he elaborate on his philosophical differences with his opponent. He said he also thinks his conversation with a reporter was "a little bit different" from how it appeared in the story, although the reporter's notes support the quote as it appeared.

Holm added that "I knew I said too much when I said I'm a Democrat." He added that he has no idea what Tabor's party affiliation is and that when he talked to The Olympian on Friday, "I'd been running (for the judgeship) for about 10 minutes."

Holm said he regrets the comment and will make no more statements about party affiliation.

Kurt Twitty, senior counsel for the Washington Commission on Judicial Conduct, said Tuesday that his office does not have jurisdiction over alleged breaches in conduct by candidates for judicial office who are attorneys, and he referred questions to the Washington State Bar Association.

Judy Berrett, spokeswoman for the state bar association, confirmed that the bar's rules for professional conduct require candidates for judgeships to follow the code for judicial conduct. She wouldn't say whether her office has received any complaints about conduct violations, saying initial complaints are kept private. Records of prior disciplinary actions or sanctions by the bar against an attorney are public, however, and Berrett said there is no record of such actions being taken against Holm.

Berrett said in an e-mail to The Olympian, "The WSBA would defer any investigation of campaign-related allegations until after the election — it would be inappropriate for the State Bar to interfere in any way with the public election process."

"If an individual is elected, then it would be a matter for the Commission on Judicial Conduct to address," the e-mail continues. The American Bar Association has guidelines for imposing sanctions on attorneys, and they do not specifically address election issues, Berrett's e-mail states. But "as a general guideline, when/if discipline is imposed, a less severe form of discipline is generally appropriate when the lawyer's conduct is an isolated incident and causes little or no actual or potential injury to a client, the public, or the legal system," Berrett's e-mail concludes.

Jeremy Pawloski covers public safety for The Olympian. He can be reached at 360-754-5465 or jpawloski@theolympian.com.