Gregoire makes first pick for court

Gov. Chris Gregoire tapped Debra L. Stephens, a personal supporter of the governor and an experienced appeals attorney, as her first appointment to the state Supreme Court.

"It really was about appointing some one whom I was excited about, who I have absolute confidence in, who I believe will have a long and stellar career on that bench," Gregoire said Tuesday.

The governor had appointed Stephens to the Court of Appeals in Spokane in April, and predicted she will become the state Supreme Court's chief justice.

Justice for Washington President Alex Hayes called Gregoire's choice "spooky bad." Justice of Washington is a nonprofit group that advocates for a nonpolitical judiciary.

"Stephens was the lead amicus (friend of the court) brief writer for the Washington State Lawyers Association. … She was the primary advocate to advance their political agenda," said Hayes.

The state trial lawyers association has been a political ally to Gregoire, and Democrats in general. For the past seven years, Stephens was a coordinator for the association's program that files briefs in cases that the association believed could affect its interests.

"This stands out as dangerously promoting a special interest agenda," Hayes said.

Last year, Hayes' group endorsed Justice Tom Chambers, unsuccessful judicial candidate Stephen Johnson and sitting Chief Justice Gerry Alexander — who spoke favorably of Stephens on Tuesday.

"I can't see where she would be a target for anybody, right off the top of my head," Alexander said.

Stephens, 42, said she was prepared to campaign for her position this year. But she did not expect the opposition from the construction industry that Alexander faced in 2006.

"I will certainly be affiliated with the trial lawyers … but those who favor property rights or are in building trades have nothing to fear from me," she said. "I certainly hope to get their support."

Stephens said she is not a "political person" and is not a member of any political party. Gregoire said she didn't ask Stephens what her political leanings were.

But Stephens acknowledged she gave $100 to Gregoire's campaign in 2003 and voted for her in 2004.

Indeed, the Spokane Spokesman Review quoted Stephens when she attended a campaign kick-off event for Gregoire.

"I think there is a women's vote. It makes her stand out," Stephens said at the time.

Stephens fits the governor's distinct pattern of major appointments. Gregoire has picked people whose life stories match her own, women who have risen through the ranks of their profession and stuck close to their families.

The governor said Stephen's sex was an issue in the appointment — she will replace retiring female Justice Bobbe Bridge on Jan. 1 — and so was her Eastern Washington experience.

She is the first woman from east of the Cascades to serve on the court, and the first justice from Eastern Washington since 2000.

"That bench I wished looked like the state. There are a couple of components missing. This is one of the components missing that now will be filled," Gregoire said.

But she didn't pick Stephens just because of her gender or her home, Gregoire said. "I wanted the absolute best-qualified person I could find, and I think that's her. She is a legal scholar, that's always a high priority for me."

Republican Dino Rossi, who barely lost to Gregoire three years ago, is challenging her again. His campaign had no immediate comment on Stephens.

"We honestly don't know that much about her," said Rossi spokeswoman Jill Strait.