Who is Judge Chris Wickham?

Washington State Superior Court Judge Chris Wickham is the man who has recently held that talk on the radio is a campaign contribution subject to Washington's campaign finance laws. A distinguished looking man, Wickham was first elected to the Court last fall, after a career as a legal services, labor, and family law attorney, and 13 years as juvenile court commissioner. He is a graduate of Cornell University and Hastings College of Law.

He was endorsed in his race for judge by, among others, Republican State Representative Gary Alexander, Democratic State Representative Sam Hunt, and former Republican Secretary of State Ralph Munro. Judicial races in Washington are officially non-partisan.

Given his brief tenure on the Court, he's had few interesting rulings. Perhaps the most controversial, before this, was rejecting an attempt to recall Republican Secretary of State Sam Reed over Washington's disputed governor's election. Those seeking to recall Reed claimed that his failure to prevent felons and dead people from voting, among other things, led to the victory of Democrat Christine Gregoire.

In short, nothing in a quick check of his background shows Wickham to be a party hack, or a man without a serious background.

This makes this case all the more alarming for the Lonely Centrist.