Pierce County, WA Superior Court judge Stephanie Arend, who
today blocked the counting of more than 700 ballots, was rated "minimally qualified" by the Tacoma-Pierce County Bar Association when she ran for office in 1999.
A barely qualified judge gets to disenfranchise hundreds of voters.
And it's at the behest of the state GOP, which has been decrying "lawyers and judges" all along.
Judicial Elections to be held for Pierce County
Department 12 (in alphabetical order, asterisk marks incumbent)
Lloyd L. Alton, Jr. Well qualified
Stephanie A. Arend* Minimally qualified
Scott A. Candoo Well qualified
Clayton R. Dickinson Qualified
Henry Haas Exceptionally well qualified
Christine J. Quinn-Brintnall Qualified
Douglas W. VanScoy Well qualified
Karl L. Williams Well qualified
Edward S. Winskill Exceptionally well qualified
The rating "minimally qualified" is one slot above "not qualified."
A candidate will receive a Minimally Qualified Rating when the candidate meets the minimum statutory requirements for the judicial position sought, is in good standing with the Washington State Bar and other Bar Associations to which the candidate has been admitted and possesses the basic legal ability required for the judicial position but is deficient in one or more of the criteria for a Qualified Rating.
Deficient. And that's the person who tells hundreds of citizens that their vote doesn't matter.