Rare for prosecutor to vie for judgeship

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

It's not every year that a Superior Court judge is challenged by the elected prosecuting attorney whose office tries cases before him.

But that's what happened in June, when Thurston County Prosecuting Attorney Ed Holm paid the $1,409 filing fee in a bid to unseat Judge Gary Tabor in the Aug. 19 primary for Position 7.

The top vote-getter in the primary will win the judgeship.

Tabor said Holm's announcement "shocked and surprised" him.

Holm said, "nobody else has got enough guts to run against a sitting judge."

Animosity

Holm, 68, won't say exactly what prompted him to run. At a recent candidates' forum, Holm called Tabor a "decent" person — but it is clear from other statements that Holm harbors some animosity toward Tabor.

"I've had problems with, my issues with him since I first started ... the first year I was here," Holm said of Tabor during an interview with The Olympian's editorial board. "I've never had a fight with him or anything. I've spoken to him personally, about some of the problems, but I've never expected things to come up again ... the other problems — to him not being known as somebody who treats individuals with dignity and respect."

Holm declined to give examples of issues.

Tabor, 61, a former chief deputy prosecutor and a Superior Court judge since 1996, declined to discuss Holm directly.

Record

Instead, Tabor focused on his record, and expounded on his judicial philosophy, which includes fairness and hard work as its cornerstones.

"Courtroom attendance is the most important part of a judge's work. You have to be there day in and day out. And preparation is so important, too," he said.

Tabor wore a U.S. flag pin and tie at a recent candidates' forum. He spoke of growing up on an Oklahoma farm, where he worked on tractors at age 10 and learned to play tuba while attending school in Texas before entering the Air Force.

Drug court

Tabor is set to take over as drug court judge when Richard Strophy retires at the end of the year. Tabor sounds as if he would be a staunch defender of drug court in the face of the county's looming budgetary challenges.