North Notes
Spokane North Rotary Club Bulletin
October 24, 2016
 
Briefly:
          On deck: Cyber threats and cyber security for business.  Mail ballots are due by Tuesday, Nov 8, Election Day!
 
Spokane Superior Court candidates share background and views
 
Meet the candidates: (All candidates received their law degrees from Gonzaga).
Judge Position 10 – Judge Linda Tompkins
Rated by the Spokane County Bar Association as “Well Qualified” Judge Tompkins joined the Superior Court in 1997. She has served as Presiding Judge, Chief Family Judge, Felony Drug Court Judge, Plea Judge and presides over civil, criminal and juvenile trials. Before joining the bench, Judge Tompkins served on the Central Valley School Board and was President of the Valley Chamber of Commerce.  She has served on the Washington State Transportation Commission.  Judge Tompkins shared that the Rotary 4 Way Test encompasses the important components of her service on the bench.
 
 
 
 
 
Judge Position 10 – Ward Andrews
Mr. Andrews did not participate in the Spokane County Bar Association process. He has practiced as a trial attorney for over 25 years. He has served as an appointed and private arbitrator in multiple jurisdictions, as a supervising trial attorney for a major insurer and formerly managed his own law firm. He is running to represent citizens and businesses by alike by reducing the negative impact on both caused by a congested court system. Mr. Andrews is dedicated to serving and protecting the citizens of Spokane County and to reducing court congestion and decreasing taxpayer costs.
 
 
 
Judge Position 11- Judge Greg Sypolt
Rated by the Spokane County Bar Association as “Well Qualified”, Judge Sypolt has served as a Superior Court Judge since 1997. On the Superior Court he has served as Presiding Judge Juvenile Court Judge, Family Law Judge and Chief Criminal Judge. Judge Sypolt received the Distinguished Judicial Service Award from Gonzaga University in 2012. He is also a past member, Rotary Club of Spokane North.  Judge Sypolt presents years of experience and an extremely busy court system does not lend itself to “on the job training”. He explained that while criminal cases are given priority due to mandates from the Legislature, much of the time taken in family court is due to citizens representing themselves. Having the ability to hire more “court facilitators” would help with some of the congestion.
 
 
 
 
Judge Position 11 - Tim Fennessy
Rated by the Spokane County Bar Association as “Well Qualified” Mr. Fennessy has been a practicing attorney for 33 years.  His practice focused on personal injury, professional malpractice, contract disputes, eminent domain, construction defects and product liability. He has argued in the Washington Court of Appeal and the Washington State Supreme Court and the Idaho Supreme Court. He has served on the Gonzaga Law School Board of Advisors. Stating that there are currently 10 uncontested seats out of 12, he wants to give voters a choice for fresh eyes, energy, passion and experience in addressing the current problems of a congested court system.
 
The bulletin producers:
 
Bulletin editors: Nancy Hanson and Sandy Fink
 
Photos: Eric Johnson
 
Program coordinator: Brad Stark