King County Councilman Reagan Dunn is running for Washington State Attorney General in 2012 (unless, possibly, redistricting or Reichert’s retirement leaves an open seat in WA-08). So what kind of bold leadership can we expect from Dunn? Not much.
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Too bad Randy Gordon’s seat is up for regular election in 2012. He would be a good alternative to Reagan Dunn. Or he could try it anyway. Bob Ferguson would also be an excellent candidate, and he would not have to give up his position at all to run for it.
The GOP would probably save the 8th CD seat for Dino Rossi at this point. A Democrat would be a lot better, but Rossi would sure be more dynamic than Dave Reichert.
run against dunn, pope. u da man. primary his rich ass.
Richard @1,
Isn’t Randy in Jane Hague’s district?
good news. Dunn is beatable.
Aside from his membership in the Lucky Sperm Club, what are Ray-gun’s qualifications to hold office?
@5
HA – Lucky Sperm Club – I love it! In his case, though, he’s in the Lucky Ovum Club – he’s riding on his mom’s rep, right?
2012 Governor: McKenna vs. Inslee
2012 Attorney General: Dunn vs. Ferguson
2012 8th District: Depends upon redistricting, and whether or not Reichert retires. I don’t have a clue on that one.
@5) UW law degree, worked for the Department of Justice, was a federal prosecutor, and assistant US Attorney. He graduated with honors from ASU (mommy didn’t take his tests for him). He’s a smart guy, and well qualified. Too bad he is a fucking Republican.
@8 what does “well qualified mean” when one is looking for an AG?
I would like to see the Dems put up someone with a really imprssive CV in areas that matter to the people of the state. One obvious one is the role the AG plays in all state agencies.
~what does the AG cost us at UW? other agenecies?
~how good a job are they doing?
~many agencies now ALSO hire staff attorneys that do not report to the AG and claim to be exmept from the Bar. What does this cost us?
~the prisons take up a vast part of the discretionary state budget. Do the candidates have ideas about alternatives that could save the state money? Do they have experience with managing HR issues, eg in corporate setting?
~Tx to McKenna and his ilk, the AGs office is now putting resources into federal politics… how should such decisions be managed. WHO does the AG work for? What do these costs amount to?
~McKenna claims he has done a good job of finding ways of delivering low cost services to the public using the web. Does the cnadidate have experience or talent with managing such corporate level tools?
SJ: Dunn is beatable ?
Hmm, didn’t the ignorati here say the same about Dave Reichert ?
@9:
“~many agencies now ALSO hire staff attorneys that do not report to the AG and claim to be exmept from the Bar. What does this cost us?”
Claim to be exempt from the bar? Huh? All of the attorneys I know who work for state agencies are members of the bar, except a few who work for the Legislature (because the AG has decided on his own that they aren’t actually practicing law). Agency attorneys also save agencies money on day-to-day matters, as they don’t charge private law firm rates ($150+/hr for an AAG vs. a reasonable salary for a staff attorney) and are available full time (instead of whatever piece of full-time the AG has chosen to assign), and work directly for the agency (instead of working for an AG who likes to play politics and substitute his own poor judgment for the agency’s in determining which cases are appealed/prosecuted and which aren’t).
@7 Sarge The 2012 Primary may be more interesting than the General if the Tea Party still has any wind left. I can see McKenna facing a tough primary from Koster or someone else of his ilk. A Dunn/Ferguson choice would be depressing. I would like to think that both of them have risen as far as they are going to go.
@12) Neither Dunn nor Ferguson have topped out. They are both young, good looking, bright, personable, rising stars, and have their sights set on higher office. Both will be successful.
The Tea Party doesn’t seem to be that much of a factor in Washington. Didier flamed out in a hurry, Reichert wasn’t primaried, etc… I don’t think McKenna has much to worry about. He’ll be the Republican nominee for Governor. (But I hope you are right and I am wrong on this).
Goldy @ 3
Maybe Randy will have to give Hague’s seat a shot anyway, since his deficit didn’t narrow much in today’s updates. I am not exactly sure, since some of the 41st is in Reagan Dunn’s district.
9. SJ: You might also ask how much money is going to outside law firms.
In my experience, Agency attorneys sit around answering their email, taking long lunches, and helping Agency bureaucrats find ways to justify skirting the law. If anything tough comes along, they kick it upstairs. But it’s a long way from practicing law on your own merits.
Sarge @8: I’m certainly impressed that R.F. Dunn got jobs in the Republican Justice Department. Wonder how he did that?
And didn’t R.F. have the grades to get into UW Law? Maybe the Magic Ovum isn’t as magic as we thought.
Law students who do well in law school are often the ones who could effectively memorize and regurgitate the first-year material. With good first-year grades, these students could then take easy classes and/or law review and accumulate credits without a lot of class work. These students often end up as court clerks or law professors or, yes, at the AG’s Office.
Meanwhile, the rest of us were chugging through Community Property, Agency & Partnership, Family Law, Trusts & Estates, and other practical classes that gave us a firm foundation in the law. In short many “top” law school graduates aren’t always knowledgeable lawyers and many of them really don’t know all that much about the law. I’m betting that R.F. is in that category.
I currently hold the sole title of BANNED from the Seattle Transit Blog (seattletransitblog.com) for one offence:
Making fun of Reagan Dunn.
After repeatedly quipping that King County is a “work-free drug-place”, I pointed this out on STB and added my own view that Dunn – without his name and substantial inherited wealth – would likely aspire no higher than middle-manager at a Dairy Queen. The STB regulars, declaring this an “ad-hominem personal attack” (despite the fact that Dunn is an elected official and not a participant at STB), banned me from further posting.
I wear that ban as a badge of honor.
-jw
[Deleted — see HA Comment Policy]
@11 Xar
In the agency I know, UW, all to well, these JD’s make EXACTLY the claim you suggest .. that is, since the law says that they can not function as attorneys, they can function as attorneys but are not attorneys so they are not subject to the rules of the bar.
So, OK, when is an attorney an attorney. If I go to a meeting and a person is introduced as being a director of some legal function (e.g. faculty ethics, compliance, HIPAA, etc), give me a card with the name “James Joyce, J.D.” and then informs me of what he sees as the law from the POV of his employer (the Dean usually) …. what would YOU call this person? I think such a person is an attorney and ALWAYS ask for clarification of who Mr. Joyce represents. The answer is some sort of ellipse, I am not representing the Dean as an attorney but I USE my attorney knowledge as the Director.
Often this duck-not-a-duck attorney will then do thinsg that, as I understand the law, would be unethical if the duck were really an attorney. I have witnessed subornation, threats of extortion, false statements of the law, etc. etc.
If you want to read about some of this take a look at the “Aprikyan” thread over at The-Ave.US. I will be posting more on this topic in the AM because an attorney in Tacoma has just outed what appear to be illegal changes to the Faculty Code. The most likely person to have made these changes, assuming the charges are correct is one of the ducks-not-an-attorney who works for the admin.
Look I am an MD, though I do not practice, I am always aware of the special responsibility I have because of my training. It seems clear to me that when a duck, JD uses his law degree, he should be helps to the same professional standard as a lawyer, JD.
I’m not surprised. King County has enough money to buy another gravel pit for another park it can’t afford to keep up, while its laying off policemen. Priorities?
sarge @ 8
Exactly.
jeff @ 16
You’re proud that you’ve been banned for ad hominen attacks?
You seem like a clever guy. Maybe you can find a way to criticize Dunn’s policies, and perhaps actions, and leave his character out of it.
Jason???
Is it really too bad that Dunn is a Repub?
Why?
he is not an incompetent, that is clear. Nor is he any sort of outstanding attorney.
The real issue is whether the Dem Party is too brain damaged to groom a credible opponent?
@16, Jeff Welch spewed “Dunn – without his name and substantial inherited wealth – would likely aspire no higher than middle-manager at a Dairy Queen.”
Now, that’s funny. And most likely true.
SJ @18, as a practical matter, the WA State Bar Association will never discipline a government attorney. No closed organization ever attacks one of its own kind, and the WSBA is nothing more than a bunch of bureaucrats.
Did you ever wonder why the State Bar gets to keep bar association dues? Why don’t these funds go to the State? Your medical license dues certainly do, as do my professional dues. In this time of tight budgets, how can the State overlook this diversion of public monies?
Jason@20,
David Horsey and a lot of other folks make a pretty darn good living (and make valuable political points) by engaging in “ad hominem attacks” against public figures all the time. Now – I’m no David Horsey, but I do believe that elected officials – particularly one who openly made “ad hominem attacks” against the entire King County workforce joking that they’re a bunch of lazy druggies – should be fair game.
Leave character out of it? Sounds like a HORRIBLE idea.
An added note – you do realize that this blog is based on a campaign to turn an ‘ad hominem attack” into official legislation – correct?
Brenda
Well, I can tell you for sure that my world .. academics and MDs is VERY tough on its own members.
I think the legal profession is badly in need of “new rules.”
Tax Attorneys
That seems like a very good idea!
Why not?
One could even set a maximum of not taxed services and exclude criminal law!
jeff @ 23
Very persuasive.
SJ @ 21
Sarge acknowledged that Dunn is a worthy and formidable opponent. I merely agreed.
Further…
Jesus, Gandhi, and Buddha could be campaigning for Dunn, I’d still vote for the Democrat. Majority matters. Regardless of what I think of Dunn personally, he’s a Republican. His caucus sucks. And majority matters.
People who “vote for the person” are naive.
Yeah, that Josef.
@1 – Rossi is done. Enuf already. He’s had his chances. Only Rob McKenna and other moderates can win statewide office, period.
Mary Lane Strow – Marummy to some – needs to make some tough decisions w/ her husband about moving forward, she is a dynamic threat that really we Rossi fans were graced with a great comeback… for reasons I’m not going to disclose here on a sandlot blog.
Like I said, Rossimania is over. It’s RMK time!
@16, Seattle Transit Blog is about Transit. Leave your shotgun of speel here dude. I just love STB the way I love reading the inside dirt or a cutaway book :-).
SJ@ 18: It’s a seperation of powers issue. The Washington State Supreme Court claims to have the sole power to license attorneys and to govern their conduct. This is an outgrowth of the doctrine that attorneys are “officers of the court”.
But if the state Supreme Court were to have discipline powers over lawyers employed by executive or the legislative branches of our government, or the administrative agencies created by them, then it would have in essence a veto power over everything they did – creating a clearly unbalanced seperation of powers.
Of course, most attorneys I know who work for the government (executive or legislative) are licensed by the Bar anyway – just in case they decide that they need it later. A licensed attorney who works for the government can be disciplined by the bar (suspension or disbarment), but that doesn’t mean he/she loses his/her government job.
The rules say a lawyer licensed by the bar can’t put “J.D.” on their business cards or advertising, since it would imply that they have some special education beyond that of an ordinary lawyer. But someone who has graduated from law school but isn’t licensed by the bar, and goes on to work in government or private industry in a job where he/she isn’t practicing law, can put “J.D” behind their name. But I really don’t know why they would do so, unless they were rather insecure about not being licensed and wanted everyone to know that they really did graduate from law school.
@18: Then they’re engaged in the authorized practice of law. In order to provide legal advice in Washington, for compensation, you have to be a member of the bar or subject to certain exceptions. If you’re not licensed and not subject to an exception, and you provide legal advice, then the Bar can take action against you. If an attorney is licensed, then they are subject to the Rules of Professional Conduct, regardless of whether or not they think they’re representing a client. Heck, we’re stuck with our ethical rules in our private lives too, not just our professional ones. If these “attorneys” are offering legal intepretations or opinions, report them to WSBA.
As a graduate of a law program who’s mascot is a duck, I have to say I find the whole duck-not-a-duck kind of funny. I am a duck, and I am an attorney. Thanks for the chuckle.
@30: The SC doesn’t just claim to have the sole power to regulate admittance to and the practice of law, they do have sole authority. The State Supreme Court (through WSBA) clearly does have disciplinary powers over government attorneys, even those in the executive and legislative branches. If an executive agency attorney violates the rules of ethical conduct, he or she can be suspended or disbarred. As being an active member of the bar is a requirement for most attorney positions, he or she can also be fired or suspended (though not directly by WSBA, but by his or her agency).
Most attorneys that work for the government are also required to be members of the bar. If they weren’t, they couldn’t provide legal advice or counsel. I’m not sure what state attorneys you interact with, but I’m aware of two that aren’t members of the Washington Bar (and they both work as analysts, not attorneys).
As for the JD thing, I’m not sure where you’re getting that. There’s nothing I’ve seen in the Rules of Professional Conduct that suggest I couldn’t put JD on my card. We’re not allowed to engage in false or deceptive advertising, but I can legitimately put Xar, J.D., M.S, B.S., Admitted in Washington (#XXXXX) and Oregon (#XXXXXX) on any advertising I choose to, as long as I have those qualifications and degrees. If I had a JDS (a secondary law degree), I could put that on there too.