McKenna Elected

On Tuesday, November 2, 2010, City of Seattle Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Ed McKenna (who was rated as "very good" by the Municipal League of King County, and "exceptionally well qualified" by the King County Bar Association) was elected to be a Seattle Municipal Court judge. Mr. McKenna resoundingly defeated incumbent Seattle Municipal Court Judge Edsonya Charles in a hotly contested race that was marked by heated exchanges between the two    candidates’ campaign camps. Much of the debate(s) centered on the fact that a political action committee (Citizens for Judicial Excellence) funded by, among other individuals, Seattle DUI attorneys and Bellevue DUI attorneys, supported Mr. Mckenna’s efforts to be elected judge. The action committee (which is not only made up of Seattle DUI lawyers and Bellevue DUI attorneys, but of all types of Washington State attorneys) was active in participating in a direct mail campaign to support Mr. McKenna. Judge Charles' supporters had alleged that Mr. McKenna's campaign illegally coordinated with Seattle DUI lawyers and Seattle DUI attorneys in operating his campaign efforts; Judge Charles supporters claimed that Judge Charles was targeted because she wouldn't let private attorneys jump “to the head of the line” and have their cases heard before public defenders in Seattle DUI cases. A formal complaint against Mr. McKenna was actually filed with state authorities by Judge Charles. In like kind, Mr. McKenna filed a complaint of his own that alleged that Judge Charles and her supporters violated campaign rules by talking about issues other than the candidates' judicial attributes; this complaint was subsequently upheld by enforcement authorities.