Alexander has been outstanding public servant

THE OLYMPIAN | • Published October 08, 2009

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Gerry L. Alexander, chief justice of the state Supreme Court, has announced plans to step aside at year's end and let one of his eight colleagues on the bench lead the court. Alexander, a native of Aberdeen and a graduate of Olympia High School, will continue on the bench as an associate justice until 2011, the year he reaches 75, the mandatory retirement age for judges in Washington state.

Alexander, who survived one of the nastiest judicial races in state history in 2006, has been an excellent jurist, as evidenced by the fact that he is the longest serving chief justice in state history.

The chief justice serves as the court’s chief spokesperson, presides over the court’s public hearings and serves as the administrative head of the state’s judicial branch. While it’s true that the chief justice job used to rotate among the nine justices based on a seniority formula, after Alexander’s 2000 election victory, the justices changed the rules for electing the chief justice to a popular vote among the nine justices. Alexander has been repeatedly elected to the post and has provided a steady hand at the helm of the state’s judiciary. He is well respected — within the legal profession and among citizens across the state — for his intellect, integrity and even-handed administration of justice. His are big shoes to fill.

Alexander’s roots run deep in the capital city.

While born in Aberdeen, he moved to Olympia at an early age. Alexander is quick to note that newspapers always have been an important part of his life. His dad was in the business and Alexander himself once delivered the Daily Olympian. He still remembers his west Olympia route and can recite the family names of many subscribers.

At the time, Alexander attended Olympia High School when it was located on what today is the Capitol Campus. He used to gaze out the window of his classroom at the ornate Temple of Justice and think about what life would be like as an attorney. Little did he know that one day he would walk the halls of that temple as the state’s top jurist.

After receiving an undergraduate degree in history from the University of Washington, Alexander served as a lieutenant in the infantry, then returned to the University of Washington to get his law degree.

During his private practice years with the Olympia law firm of Parr, Baker, Alexander and Cordes, he served as president of the Thurston-Mason County Bar Association.

When a fourth Superior Court judgeship position was created in the two-county jurisdiction in 1973, Alexander got the job. He started out with a tiny office on the first floor of the old courthouse on Capitol Way, and presided over the first murder trial in the new courthouse atop Mottman hill in the late 1970s.

Alexander left the local Superior Court bench in 1985 to take a seat on the State Court of Appeals in Tacoma. And after two decades of lower court experience, Alexander was elected to the Supreme Court in 1994.

His 2006 reelection race against attorney John Groen was the most challenging. Just days before a cap on individual donations to judicial candidates went into effect, Groen took $100,000 in contributions from construction industry interests.

Then Groen and the Building Industry Association of Washington launched a reprehensible advertising campaign that attempted to paint Alexander as a doddering old fool. One radio advertisement said, “When it’s your time, you know it. You’re tired, you get sloppy, you make mistakes. Take Chief Justice Gerry Alexander — he’s been a judge since Nixon was president.”

The Nixon jab was almost laughable as Alexander was quite the opposite — an active and vibrant man with a keen judicial mind.

Voters saw through the mudslinging and reelected Alexander with more than 54 percent of the vote.

With two years until his forced retirement, Alexander said now it’s time to transition to a new chief justice.

“I just want people to know, I am in good health. I don’t have any discontent in the job. ... I just thought this made sense for me personally and for the court,” he said. “This way I can kind of help the transition to the new chief justice.’’

In his prepared statement, Alexander said, “I am immensely proud of our court, and I feel this is the perfect time to turn this position over to one of my able colleagues.”

The timing is right. Next month, the nine jurists will vote to elect the state’s 53rd chief justice.

As Gov. Chris Gregoire says: “(Alexander) has provided immeasurable leadership, strengthened our state’s trial system and ensured a fair process for those requiring it.”

In a stellar career at the local and state level, Gerry Alexander has proven himself to be the epitome of a first-class public servant.