Brandt, Maurer stress experience in district judge race

The most expensive race for judge in Washington this year pits incumbent Spokane County District Court Judge Randy Brandt against local attorney Aimee Maurer.

Although incumbent judges usually fare well in re-election bids, Maurer has gathered a large following from diverse political persuasions. She also has built her campaign around the Blueprint for Reform, a report released earlier this year from the Spokane Regional Criminal Justice Commission that suggested the District Court was slow to change.

“For the people who practice in District Court, that was not a surprise to us,” Maurer said. “The commissioners who authored that report are not dummies. They are some of the greatest legal minds we have in Spokane.”

Brandt’s campaign has stressed law and order. His campaign mailers say that he is “proven to keep us safe.”

He points to his years on the bench, saying his experience “gives me the advantage of knowing what people should and must be kept in jail.”

Brandt, who is the presiding judge of the court, has been an attorney three times longer than Maurer. He also was a District Court commissioner – basically, a judge – for six years, until the city of Spokane split off to create a Municipal Court and the county laid off its court commissioners in 2009. He was appointed to the bench in 2011 and was elected to it a year later.

Maurer claims that her “breadth of practice is considerably broader” than Brandt’s, having worked as a deputy prosecutor for two years and at local law firms, where she handled a variety of cases.

But Brandt stresses that his opponent’s experience includes no time on the bench.

The Spokane County Bar Association, which ranked judicial candidates, labeled Brandt “well qualified” and Maurer “qualified.”

Brandt said the Blueprint for Reform report “unfairly characterized” the District Court and points to the Veterans Court, a new electronic warrants program and other initiatives that he says shows that the court has been innovative.

Maurer says much more needs to be done and that the court still is wasting money by sending too many people to jail who should be diverted into programs that she says are cheaper and more effective.

“It isn’t that it couldn’t have been done during his term in office, because it has been done,” said Maurer, noting programs implemented in the Spokane Municipal Court. She believes Brandt’s response is, essentially, “we’re fine and we’re not making any changes.”

Maurer has poured more than $40,000 into her campaign on top of more than $10,000 from other contributors.

Brandt easily has topped that by spending more than $105,000 of his own money. He hasn’t collected donations from other contributors, according to the state Public Disclosure Commission.

Maurer’s list of endorsements is a rare feat, mixing big-name Republicans and Democrats. It includes: Spokane Mayor David Condon, City Council President Ben Stuckart, U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, the Spokane Regional Labor Council, state Rep. Marcus Riccelli, state Rep. Kevin Parker and City Councilman Mike Fagan.

On the political side, Brandt’s endorsements stress law and order: Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich and retiring Spokane County Prosecutor Steve Tucker.

Both have impressive judicial endorsements. Brandt’s includes state Supreme Court members. Maurer’s includes a majority of Spokane County Superior Court judges.

Despite the signs of a tough battle, Brandt said the two candidates get along.

“I’ve heard that my opponent is a nice young lady and maybe at some point she would make a great judge,” Brandt said.

But not now, he added.

“Experience is the difference,” Brandt said. “Not only in the law but also in life.”

Maurer said she’s prepared for the bench.

“I really do believe that Spokane is ready for some change,” she said. “District Court can do better than we’re doing. We can be trendsetters like the Municipal Court.”