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12/30/2009: "Judge Andrew Will Apply For Appointment To Superior Court"

Judge Stewart R. Andrew has announced his intention to apply to Governor Chris Gregoire to replace the late Judge John O. Linde on the local bench.

Judge Andrew will now join the other three local attorneys who have formally indicated their intention to put their names forward to the Governor for consideration. Of the four, only Judge Andrew is already a judge.

Judge Andrew is currently serving as a pro-tem Superior Court Judge, and is the SJC District Court Judge, having first been elected by popular vote in 1998, in 2002, and again in 2006.



The process for selecting a new judge is spelled out in the State Constitution, which states “the governor shall appoint a person to hold the office until the election and qualification of a judge to fill the vacancy, which election shall be at the next succeeding general election, and the judge so elected shall hold office for the remainder of the unexpired term.

Judge Andrew graduated from the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis in 1972, and served as an officer aboard Navy and Coast Guard ships during the 1970’s. He received his Juris Doctorate degree in 1980 from the School of Law at Golden Gate University in San Francisco.

Admitted to the California Bar in 1980, he worked as an Assistant City Attorney in Livermore and San Rafael, California, until 1985.

Admitted to the Washington Bar in 1984 he moved to Orcas Island in 1985 where he maintained a private law practice with offices in Eastsound until his election to the District Court bench in 1998.

He has been involved in a number of local community organizations including serving on the Board of the Orcas Island Library Association from 1986 to 1987; serving as President of the San Juan County Bar Association in 1988; serving on the County Planning Commission from 1988 to 1994, where he served as Chairman from 1990 to 1994; and serving as a member of the San Juan County Law Library Board of Trustees from 1995-1996.

Judge Andrew is married to his wife of 33 years, Cindy. They have one adult daughter, Alissa. They live on Orcas Island.