Over my 42 years practicing law in Kirkland, I am regularly asked by friends and clients for recommendations on judicial races. This year I am strongly recommending the re-election of Justice Wiggins to the State Supreme Court. I have known and worked with Justice Wiggins.

As a lawyer, he specialized in appellate work and earned a reputation as one of the top appellate lawyers in the state. He was appointed to the Court of Appeals and in 2010 was elected to the State Supreme Court. He has been one of the more thoughtful and hard-working justices to serve, authoring 110 opinions – 20 percent more opinions than average. His diligence, impartiality and knowledge of the law have led to his endorsement by 200 sitting and retired judges from across the state and 15 former presidents of the Washington State Bar Association.

His opponent is a municipal court judge handling traffic and misdemeanor cases who seeks to leap up three judicial levels to the Supreme Court. Last week three wealthy donors pumped $350,000 into a PAC to defeat Justice Wiggins because they did not like a few court decisions. The direction of the Supreme Court should not be influenced by a wealthy few, but rather guided by experienced, independent jurists with a breadth of understanding of the law.

Justice Wiggins is such a jurist. He and Justices Madsen and Yu, who are also up for re-election, are each rated by the King County Bar Association through its independent panel review as “Exceptionally Well-Qualified,” the highest possible rating. Their opponents are rated lower. I urge the re-election of Justices Wiggins, along with Justices Madsen and Yu.

Kenneth H. Davidson, Kirkland