As a provider of news, events and other issues relevant to Peninsula environmental news, we will be covering the 2012 election from that point of view. As such, we are going to be endorsing candidates we believe will help protect our hard fought laws and environment standards, which at present, are as protective as any in the country.
Looking at the top of our front page, you will find a tab that will be where we will place our recommendations for candidates and issues on the ballet.
The Olympic Peninsula and Jefferson County in particular have seen a variety of extremely contentious land use issues over the last ten years. Critical Areas Ordinances (CAOs), Shoreline Master Program (SMP), Water Resource Inventory Area (WRIA), along with issues of mining, shoreline development for gravel pit expansion, to name a few have been in the forefront of our issues. These issues often, in fact usually, get adjudicated in our court systems, and the Court of Appeals is key to providing a legal ruling that is often supported by the Supreme Court.
For that reason, our first endorsement is to support the candidacy of Tom Bjorgen, for Circuit Court of Appeals.
Tom has a long background in legal issues related to land use law. His backgrounder on his web site states:
Thomas was born in Yakima, where he worked in the orchards while growing up. When he worked in the fruit packing plants, he was a member of the Teamsters union. He graduated from Washington State University with high honors, worked as a park ranger at Mt. Rainier (and has climbed Mt. Rainier ten times), and taught in public schools in Norway, before earning his law degree from the University of Washington.
In his 33-year legal career, Thomas worked as state Assistant Attorney General, as counsel in the State Legislature, and as a Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney for Thurston County. He wrote briefs for cases before the United States Supreme Court, and argued cases before other federal courts, the Washington State Supreme Court, and the Court of Appeals. Later, he went into private practice, representing public and private clients and serving as a legal mediator and arbitrator.
Currently, he is the Hearing Examiner for Thurston County and the cities of Olympia and DuPont, where he judges legal disputes about property development. He taught in the Land Use Certification Program of the University of Washington School of Law. He holds the highest rating – AV-preeminent – given by Martindale-Hubbell, the national attorney rating organization.
Thomas served on the board of the Nisqually River Basin Land Trust and the Washington Environmental Council, served on the land use section of the Washington State Bar Association, helped establish the Volunteer Legal Clinic in Olympia, and was a long-time volunteer at a local kitchen for the homeless. He is married and lives near Olympia. In his free time, Thomas enjoys hiking, climbing, and traveling.
We have met with Tom, and talked to him about his thoughts on the law. We are convinced that Tom will work appropriately on the bench to help adjudicate difficult issues that affect our environment. Given that the race for Court of Appeals is usually “down the ballot” below the main candidates and issues, we highly recommend that you take the time to vote for Tom, when your ballet arrives.
You can find more on Tom, his long list of endorsements, and can support his candidacy with yard signs and contributions, at: