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In a remarkable result in judicial elections, Peter Klym, a public defender, is solidly leading embattled Multnomah County Circuit Judge Adrian Brown, 69% to 30%. Early results show a series of unflattering headlines may have rocked Brown, as Klym appears poised to take the seat.
Results for judges’ seats on the Multnomah County circuit bench aren’t typically exciting, given that most candidates run uncontested and incumbents often maintain their edge.
But in what’s shaping up to be an oddly competitive year, four seats saw some serious competition. Three open seats have reeled in a pool of qualified candidates, and Brown, the only incumbent facing a challenger, in Klym, has had a tough time on the campaign trail. (After Brown asked on Microsoft Teams for other judges to handle her workload so she could campaign, the presiding judge of the court rebuked Brown. She also missed the deadline to file a Voters’ Pamphlet statement.)
Judges on the circuit court serve six-year terms. The candidate elected to the 4th District’s Position 14 is assigned to family law cases, such as child custody disputes, divorce, juvenile neglect, and other expressions of families in crisis. Other victors will be assigned to the general bench docket, overseeing traditional civil and criminal cases.
Laura Maurer Rowan and Diane Sykes lead the 4th District’s Position 2 contest and are locked in a neck-and-neck race thus far. Maurer Rowan, a senior assistant attorney general at the Oregon Department of Justice, is polling at 30%, while Sykes, a longtime civil rights lawyer, is at 28%. If results hold, they will advance to a runoff in the November election, where they will face off for the seat head to head.
In the 4th District’s Position 5 contest, Joanna Perini-Abbott, a law professor with a dual background in civil litigation and federal public defense, leads her opponent, prosecutor John Casalino, by a comfortable margin. Perini-Abbott has 64% of the vote to Casalino’s 35%. If the trend continues, she appears headed for a spot on the bench.
Joseph Hagedorn, a full-time judge pro tem in Multnomah County Juvenile Court, and Elizabeth Savage, a family law attorney and judge pro tem in Washington County, lead the 4th District’s Position 14 contest. Hagedorn’s got a bit of a margin over Savage: He’s polling at 34% to Savage’s 25%. The two are almost certainly headed toward a runoff in the November election, given neither appears poised to surpass 50% of the vote.
