While state ethics rules limited the scope of his comments, Washington state Supreme Court justice candidate Dave Larson jokingly told a crowd at Adna High School Saturday that the position is similar to other unsung heroes in society.
“I always joke that we’re the offensive line of government. We only get noticed when we jump offsides,” Larson said. “You only hear about judges when they do something wrong.”
Larson appeared at the school Sunday at an event headlined by gubernatorial candidate Dave Reichert. In a nonpartisan position, Larson cannot endorse a nonjudicial candidate for public office.
“What I can promise you is that I will uphold my oath,” Larson said. “And for judges, there's a simple oath. We only swear to uphold the constitution of the state of Washington and the constitution of the United States.”
Larson currently serves as a judge on the Federal Way Municipal Court, a position he has held since 2008. According to his city biography, Larson is a member of the District and Municipal Court Judges Association Council on Independent Courts, Legislative Committee and Therapeutic Courts Committee.
Larson graduated from the University of Puget Sound in 1980 and earned a juris doctor from Seattle University School of Law in 1984, according to his biography.
“It’s time that we take back the judiciary in Washington state, and I want to be part of it,” Larson said.
Larson is running for the first open seat on the state Supreme Court in 12 years.
“Traditionally, what happens is a judge or justice will resign, and under the state constitution, the governor then gets to appoint the replacement. That person becomes the incumbent, and either that they don’t get an opponent or they’re impossible to beat,” Larson said.
While the position is nonpartisan, according to Larson, Gov. Jay Inslee has appointed 169 of the 205 judges on the state’s Supreme Court, Court of Appeals and superior courts.
Larson said he initially planned to retire in 2025 before the opportunity to run for a seat without an incumbent arose.
“I decided to run for this open seat because it’s too important,” Larson said. “I’m worried about what kind of world we’re going to turn over to our grandchildren.”
In his speech, Larson said the Blake decision by the state Supreme Court was an example of a court that’s “interested more in their personal opinions than they are in following the law.”
In the 2021 ruling, the court ruled the state’s felony drug possession law was unconstitutional, though the legislature later passed a “fix” during the 2023 session.
The case, Larson said, is an example of “the power of the judiciary and the effect it has on people.”
“I’m not afraid to be the person that gets on that court and says, ‘Wait a minute, we can’t do this,’” Larson said. “And we need somebody on there because right now, that isn’t occurring. There’s nobody on there that says ‘wait a minute.’”
Throughout history, Larson said societies often face battles between people “that want to be free, and the people who want to dominate and control.”
“And we’re in that struggle now,” Larson said.
During this struggle, he said, people who wish to remain free “just want to live and love and mind their own business” as others encroach.
“Well, right now, the encroachment has occurred where on one side of us is a cliff, and the other side of us we have to push back,” Larson said. “And the reason I bring that up is not political, it’s just based on very fundamental principles.”
