Kitsap County’s legal community recently weighed in on the crowded card of judicial races set for the Aug. 7 primary. You can find the results of the Kitsap County Bar Association’s preference poll below.

A quick caveat: 43 percent of the bar association’s lawyers participated.

In the only contested race for Kitsap County Superior Court, lawyers gave Kitsap County public defender Bill Houser the most first choice votes (52) while deputy prosecutor turned private attorney Jennifer Forbes came in second with 41.

For the Tacoma-based court of appeals seat (one that serves Kitsap and its surrounding counties), the lawyers gave Bremerton attorney Tom Weaver the most first choice votes (44) and Washington Association of Prosecuting Attorneys’ legal counsel and Port Orchard resident Pam Loginsky the second most (29) in the six candidate race.

In two of the races for the state’s supreme court, the county’s lawyers were partial to the incumbents: the lawyers gave 77 first choice votes to former Clallam County judge Susan Owens (the next closest was three votes) and 90 votes to former King County judge Steven Gonzalez to Port Orchard Attorney Bruce Danielson’s two.

The closest voting came in the remaining supreme court race. Longtime King County Superior Court Judge Bruce Hilyer garnered 36 first place votes, compared with Bainbridge appellate attorney Sheryl Gordon McCloud’s 28.

In each race, if the candidate gets 50 percent or above, the race is settled. Those races where that doesn’t happen will see a runoff election between the top two in November. Stay tuned.

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