What to know about the three candidates running for Whatcom County District Court judge
With the Aug. 2 primary approaching, voters will have to decide which two candidates for Whatcom County District Court Judge will advance to November’s general election.
Gordon Jenkins, David Nelson and Jonathan Rands are all running for Whatcom County District Court Judge Position 2. Incumbent Judge Matthew Elich is not running.
District Court Judge Angela Anderson is running unopposed for Whatcom County District Court Judge Position 1.
Anderson was appointed by the Whatcom County Council in June 2021 to fill the remainder Judge David Grant’s four-year term, which ends at the end of 2022. Grant retired in June 2021, leaving the bench after more than 35 years working in Whatcom County.
In Washington state’s vote-by-mail primary, the top two candidates advance to the Nov. 8 general election, regardless of party affiliation.
Whatcom County District Court consists of two elected judges who serve four-year terms and preside over cases that include criminal misdemeanors, no-contact orders, general civil actions, small claims and infractions, such as traffic tickets and code violations.
Gordon Jenkins
Gordon Jenkins said his experience working as both a prosecuting and defense attorney would allow him to bring a balanced perspective to the bench.
Jenkins, 38, has worked with the Whatcom County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, most recently as a senior deputy prosecuting attorney, since 2017. He is also the current Drug Court prosecutor for the county.
Jenkins previously worked in private practice, starting around 2014, as a defense attorney in Mason County. There, he handled mainly contract cases for the public defender’s office in District Court.
Through his work as a prosecutor, he has handled a wide variety of cases, ranging from minor offenses up to homicides, which he said gives him a strong understanding of the types of issues that appear before the court, Jenkins said in an interview with The Bellingham Herald.
He said his former experience as a defense attorney familiarized him with working on that side of the courtroom and would allow him to be focused on the law if elected District Court judge.
“I understand the strain the community feels from being the victim of ongoing crime in the area. As a prosecutor, I see that and I understand how that can impact victims’ lives. But again, I also have an understanding of how weighty the court system can be and how important it is to protect the rights of those people who are going through it,” Jenkins said. “So I’m going to be keeping all of that in mind when I’m making decisions for our community.”
Jenkins said if elected judge, he would like to try and expand the use of the county’s therapeutic courts. The county currently has drug and mental health courts, as well as a teen court. Jenkins said he would like to see specialty courts created and used more often in District Court, such as a DUI-specific court or substance abuse-specific court. His work throughout the past year as the county’s drug court prosecutor has provided him the knowledge and understanding of how those systems work, he said.
“I think I can try and expand that use to try and curb some of the issues that people are dealing with that can kind of cause this ongoing cycle of crime that we are sometimes seeing, and to try and protect the community in that way. I think that’s a really important thing for the District Court to be doing,” Jenkins said.
While a judge has to be focused on following the law and the position has to remain unbiased in order for people to believe in the process and the judicial system, Jenkins said, it’s also important people understand what is happening in court on any given day. If elected, Jenkins said he would manage the court in a way that would be approachable and that would meet people where they are when they appear in the courtroom.
“I want people to know that I’m going to be giving every case that’s in front of me a full and fair consideration of all of the issues. I’m not going to come in with my mind made up, and I’m going to be willing to listen to everything that is brought in front of me, and then will try and explain any decision that I make in as full and fair a way as I possibly can,” Jenkins said.
Jenkins, who lives in Bellingham, is endorsed by Whatcom County Executive Satpal Sidhu, Whatcom County Prosecuting Attorney Eric Richey, Whatcom County Sheriff Bill Elfo, Nooksack Mayor Kevin Hester, state Rep. Sharon Shewmake, D-Bellingham, Whatcom County Superior Court Judge Evan Jones and Court Commissioners Angela Cuevas and Ann Vetter-Hansen, Whatcom County Council members Kaylee Galloway and Barry Buchanan, Bellingham City Council Member Dan Hammill, the Young Democrats of Western and others, according to his website.
Jenkins has raised $25,965.99 and spent $20,537.51, according to the Washington State Public Disclosure Commission.
Jenkins was rated qualified by the Whatcom County Bar Association and well qualified by Whatcom Women Lawyers.
David Nelson
David Nelson has spent his career practicing law in courts of limited jurisdiction in Whatcom County, which he said has allowed him to see the upcoming issues the county’s District Court will face over the next term.
Nelson, 61, has been an attorney for 35 years, serving 26 of those as Ferndale Municipal Court Prosecutor. Nelson has also been a pro tem judge in Whatcom County Superior and District courts, and Bellingham, Lynden, Sumas, Everson and Blaine municipal courts.
He has owned his own law firm since 2006 and previously worked as a public defense attorney for five years.
“People run for judge for different reasons. … It’s an opportunity to give back a little bit. My entire career has been basically my own office. My prosecuting in Ferndale is a contract, I still have my own office, and I worked for five years as a public defender, so I did my time and learning,” Nelson said in an interview with The Herald. “I feel like at this point in my career, I’m ready to finish it off by giving back. I know that sounds corny, but it’s true,” Nelson said.
Nelson said the primary issue facing the county’s District Court is going to be the lack of a jail over the next few years, and it’s one of the things that prompted him to run for judge. Because of booking restrictions, staffing shortages, infrastructure and COVID-19 safety protocols, Nelson said the Whatcom County Jail is at capacity and space is primarily for those accused of serious, violent felonies, not misdemeanors seen in the county’s district court.
Because of this, Nelson said the judges and District Court will have to create and expand jail alternatives instead of using incarceration in the cases they preside over. Nelson said the mentality of the court system will have to change in order to achieve that goal, but he said that’s something he feels comfortable working on doing because he’s spent his career working in municipal and district courts.
Nelson said he’d like to see changes to the District Court’s probation office by having more of a focus on alternate courts rather than jail time. He also said he’d like to see the court be on the forefront of pushing for more certified language interpreters for people who appear in court.
District Court could become more of a leader with better communication with the area’s municipal courts and could modernize some policies and practices, like creating one single form for a no-contact order, rather than having separate ones for each court, in a way to benefit community members and those involved in the criminal legal system, Nelson said.
“District Court is where most citizens will ever come to court. … You need a judge who understands that people are scared to be in that court,” Nelson said. “So I’m going to get in there and do what I can for as long as I can and then retire. But I think the difference I have is that I’ve done it, I’ve worn all the different hats, I’ve been a judge on every type of calendar, including jury trials, in Superior Court, District Court and all the small municipalities. …I think the community should know they need someone who understands how these courts work.”
Nelson, who grew up in Ferndale, is endorsed by Whatcom County Superior Court Judge Rob Olson, Whatcom County District 7 Fire Chief Larry Hoffman, Ferndale Mayor Greg Hansen, as well as multiple attorneys and other community leaders, according to his website.
Nelson has raised $34,500 and spent $18,763.20, according to the state public disclosure commission.
Nelson was rated well qualified by the Whatcom County Bar Association and Whatcom Women Lawyers.
Jonathan Rands
Jonathan Rands said he sees the District Court judicial position as an opportunity to serve and impact the Whatcom County community on a broader level.
Rands, 48, has been a practicing attorney for 20 years, focusing almost exclusively on cases in District and Municipal courts. Rands started his legal career in the Skagit County Public Defender’s Office where he worked for almost two years. He then went into private practice before starting his own multi-county DUI defense law firm serving Whatcom, Skagit, Island, San Juan and northern Snohomish counties.
Rands has also served as a pro tem judge for nearly four years in Whatcom County’s various courts.
“Right now, I can only handle so many cases on a given day or week or month or a year. But from the District Court bench, I can handle half of the cases that come through the court system and have an impact in a positive way and maintain access to justice and protection of rights or an application of rule of law on such a broader level than just those that come through my door,” Rands said in an interview with The Herald. “A district court judge position is really about service to the community.”
Calling it the “people’s court,” Rands said District Court is the most likely court level a community member will come into contact with during their lifetimes. It’s the job of district court judges to uncover systemic issues within the court system and take care of them, so people have access to justice, he said.
“My goal is to truly understand and … make sure that people that come before me, no matter what proceeding it is, are understood from a humanistic perspective. And also, the appropriate rule of law is imposed and more importantly, that access to justice is preserved or given at every stage,” Rands said.
Rands said he’s passionate about bringing a community court to Whatcom County, similar to the ones in Skagit and Spokane counties. A community court is a therapeutic court where people accused of low-level, nonviolent criminal acts will go through a court held outside of the courthouse, such as in a community resource center, which will also connect them to social services and resources, such as vacating a criminal conviction or getting a driver’s license. The community court would be accessible to other members of the public as well, he said.
The goal, Rands said, is to reduce recidivism and “we can ultimately connect them to resources immediately to thereby improve their circumstances, but yet hold them accountable and then return them to the community better off than when they first came into the system. And that in turn, improves our community, because what we’re doing is we’re improving people’s lives. … It’s sort of the wave of the future.”
Rands said he would also like to modernize the court by embracing Zoom for certain court proceedings or possibly jury selection as a way to improve access to justice. He believes he has the broadest understanding of what the court could be, has vast experience in district courts and has a plan to improve the community, he said.
“Because I have always worked for people with human problems and never for a corporation or a government, I understand people and I can bring that understanding to the bench,” Rands said. “I think that my best years, and the experience I can draw upon, will take place in the next 20 years.”
Rands said his 20 years of experience in county district courts, his commitment to the rule of law and his passion for access to justice are what set him apart from the other candidates.
“My qualifications resonate with so many people across the county. And it all comes down to, I think, the time and energy and experience that I have in court that neither of my opponents have,” Rands said. “But most importantly, what you need is a district court judge who is willing to put the work and time and energy into it. And that is me.”
Rands, who was born in Canada and became a U.S. citizen in 2015, is endorsed by the Whatcom County Republicans, the 42nd District Democrats, the Young Democrats of Western Washington University, Lummi Indian Business Council, Northwest Washington Central Labor Council, dozens of judges serving on the state Supreme Court, appellate courts, and county and city courts, and dozens of various other labor unions, attorneys and public servants, according to his website.
Rands has raised $47,023.07 and has spent $55,049.93, according to the state’s public disclosure commission.
Rands is rated qualified by the Whatcom County Bar Association and well qualified by Whatcom Women Lawyers.
This story was originally published July 26, 2022 at 8:46 AM.
