Arrow-right Camera
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Richard Serns

A candidate for Washington Supreme Court, Position 6, State of Washington in the 2020 Washington General Election, Nov. 3

Party: No party

Age: 73

City: Winlock, Washington

Education: Earned master's degree in school administration from Walla Walla University. Earned doctorate in education policy and management from the University of Oregon in 1997. Earned law degree from University of Washington Law School in 1999. 

Work Experience: Retired as superintendent of schools in Winlock, Washington, in June 2019 after serving since 2016. Spent prior 17 years working as teacher and administrator in the Federal Way school district.

Political Experience: First run for elected office. 

Family: Married to Valerie. Three adult children and five grandchildren. 

Contact information

Race Results

Candidate Votes Pct
G. Helen Whitener (N) 2,263,513 66.50%
Richard Serns (N) 1,140,338 33.50%

Details & headlines

Related Coverage

Whitener and Montoya-Lewis easily retain their Washington Supreme Court seats; Staab wins appeals court race

Spokane County voters cast ballots in three contested judicial races in this election. One is for a seat on the state’s Court of Appeals, and two are for seats on the Washington Supreme Court. 

Supreme Court Justice Helen Whitener defends seat against former school administrator Richard Serns

Whitener was appointed to her seat in April by Gov. Jay Inslee, while Serns only recently passed the bar exam, qualifying him to run for the court under the state Constitution.