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06/03/2008: "Gaylord Will Challenge Judge Linde For Judgeship"

Having failed to convince Governor Gregoire to appoint him as the first San Juan County Superior Court Judge, Prosecutor Randall K. Gaylord has decided to take his case to the pubic, by running against siting Judge John Linde.

After the Governor appointed Linde , Gaylord said he had not decided if he would run against Linde during the next election, and that he would have to evaluate how much he wanted the job and also why he had not been selected by the Governor at the end of a lengthy review by the Governor’s judicial review team.


Gaylord is the attorney for the County Council, but his relationship with them has not always been one of accord, and he has come under criticism for venturing out of the county to take part in statewide legal actions, most notably when he became part of the NoNewGasTax lawsuit that became a free speech issue, and a case that Gaylord and the other attorneys involve with lost.

Gaylord has also had his moments of success when he has been directed by the Council (and the Commissioners before them) to defend suits against the County on the Jet Ski Ordinance, and on the Guest House appeal.

But unlike Linde, Gaylord has no prior experience as a sitting Judge, and many of the active San Juan County attorneys cited the lack of experience as a reason for favoring Linde over Gaylord when both were being considered for the position by the Governor; although one attorney said that while Gaylord -or any attorney- could quickly learn the ropes, Linde was ready to go “right now”; that there would be “no learning curve”.
Based on the respect and popularity on display when Linde was given the oath of office in Friday Harbor by the State Supreme Court Chief Justice, in what at the time was called “a historical day” , Gaylord may have an uphill battle in front of him to unseat a sitting judge.