Sharonda Amamilo leads in race for open bench on Thurston County Superior Court

Sharonda Amamilo holds a large lead over her three opponents in the race for retiring Judge Anne Hirsch’s Position 8 seat on the Thurston County Superior Court.

In the first tally Tuesday night, Amamilo came away with 43 percent of the votes, and 15-year Olympia Municipal Court Judge Scott Ahlf received 24.5 percent of the votes. They outpaced David Hankins, who had 17.5 percent of the vote, and Jonathan Sprouffske, who had 14 percent.

The top two vote-getters move ahead to the November general election.

Amamilo has worked in private practice, worked as a child welfare specialist, and served in the military for 22 years. She said Tuesday night she looks forward to getting to know her supporters better as her campaign continues to the November election.

“I want the voters to know I am very humbled and very proud that they see me as someone that they can trust to take on such an important role,” she said.

When asked how he felt about Tuesday night’s results, Ahlf said, chuckling, “we’re number two: that’s how I feel.”

Ahlf has had a long career in law. Prior to joining Olympia’s Municipal Court he spent 15 years as a prosecutor and assistant attorney for Lacey and has been a Thurston County Superior Court Pro-Tem Judge.

On Tuesday night, both Amamilo and Ahlf expressed how professional all their opponents have been during the course of the campaign. Ahlf told The Olympian, “Anyone of the four candidates would make a good Superior Court Judge.”

This story was originally published August 4, 2020 at 10:27 PM.