Leading Voices Endorse Judge Mike Diaz


“I twice appointed Judge Diaz to the bench, first to the Superior Court and then to the Court of Appeals. I appointed him for his track record of proven reform work, dedication to public service, and understanding of complex state issues. I have no doubt he will be the most qualified candidate to serve on the highest court in our state. He possesses the judicial virtues of intelligence, courage, temperament, and fairness—qualities that every judicial officer should possess."

Jay Inslee
Former Governor of Washington


“Judge Diaz is exactly what our Supreme Court needs right now."

Christine Gregoire
Former Governor of Washington


Gary Locke
Former Governor of Washington


"I worked with Judge Diaz for half a decade at the United States Attorney’s office in Seattle. Through his civil rights work and leadership in the office, he made that office better, our streets safer, and our community fairer. When elected, our state should rest assured that it will have a justice who has the experience essential for the job, and who will listen to all sides, think critically, and decide our gravest disputes fairly, with a deep commitment to the rule of law. We need his voice and expertise on the Washington Supreme Court."

Nick Brown
Washington Attorney General


"I know Judge Diaz from his tireless work in the civic community, his stellar reputation in the legal community, and his excellence and thoughtful written opinions as an appellate judge. I am honored to endorse him as my successor for those reasons and also because he has a unique combination of life and legal experiences to bring to this court, all of which are informed by his relentless desire to serve his fellow Washingtonians. When elected, he will be ready on day one and will serve this court and our beloved community faithfully and enthusiastically for years to come." 

Raquel Montoya-Lewis
Washington Supreme Court Justice


Sheryl Gordon McCloud
Washington Supreme Court Justice


“For nearly four years, Judge Diaz and I worked collaboratively with our respective teams to improve policing in Seattle. In close partnership, he convened officers at SPD, community groups, and various governmental entities locally and nationwide to do the hard work of reform. He was always reasonable and zealously focused on advancing effective and constitutional policing in his hometown. I’m proud to support his candidacy for the state’s highest court.”

Kathy O'Toole
Former SPD Chief of Police


"Mike Diaz worked intensely and wholeheartedly with the CPC on reform efforts. His leadership at DOJ in seeking to transform the Seattle Police Department was integral in beginning the ongoing process of improving police accountability in an effort to better serve our communities and begin to build trust."

Fé LopezGaetke
Civil Rights Activist & founding Director of the Seattle Community Police Commission (CPC)

Complete Endorsement List

Judge Diaz is endorsed by nine Supreme Court judges and 26 Court of Appeals judges, including majorities of both courts, as well as over 100 Superior Court and other judges.

Washington State Supreme Court 

Raquel Montoya-Lewis
Steve Gonzalez
Sheryl Gordon McCloud
Colleen Melody
Salvador Mungia
Gerry Alexander (ret.)
Bobbe Bridge (ret.)
Faith Ireland (ret.)
Mary Yu (ret.)

Washington State Court of Appeals, Division 1 

Ian Birk
Bill Bowman
Tam Bui
Janet Chung
Leonard Feldman
David Mann
Lori Kay Smith
Martin Applewick (ret.)
Ann Schindler (ret.)
Michael Spearman (ret.)
Michael Trickey (ret.)
James Verellen (ret.)

Washington State Court of Appeals, Division 2

Anne Cruser
Rebecca Glasgow
Linda Lee
Meng Li Che
Brad Maxa
Bernard Veljacic
Elaine Houghton (ret.)
J. Robin Hunt (ret.)
Lisa Worswick (ret.)

Washington State Court of Appeals, Division 3 

John Cooney
Tyson Hill
Robert Lawrence-Berry
Megan Murphy
Kevin Korsmo (ret.)

King County Superior Court

Kristin Ballinger
Johanna Bender
Elizabeth Berns
Joe Campagna
Monica Cary
Sam Chung
Paul Crisalli
Karen Donohue
Marshall Ferguson
Taki Flevaris
Veronica Galvan
Nikole Hecklinger
Janet Helson
Jason Holloway
David Keenan
Jonathan Lack
Matt Lapin
Mark Larrañaga
Susan Llorens
Adrienne McCoy 
Brian McDonald
John McHale
Maureen McKee
Patrick Oishi
Sue Parisien
Jason Poydras
Rania Rampersad
Jim Rogers
Andrea Robertson
Averil Rothrock
Mike Ryan
Ben Santos
Ken Schubert
Michael Scott
Ketu Shah
Aimee Sutton
Tanya Thorp
Haydee Vargas
David Whedbee
Sandra Widlan
Josephine Wiggs
Coreen Wilson
Wyman Yip 
Mindy Young 
Gina Cahan (ret.)
Greg Canova (ret.)
Andra Darvas (ret.) 
William Downing (ret.)
Theresa Doyle (ret.)
John Erlick (ret.)
Michael Fox (ret.) 
Julia Garratt (ret.) 
Helen Halpert (ret.) 
Holly Hill (ret.) 
Laura Inveen (ret.)
Dean Lum (ret.)
Barbara Mack (ret.) 
LeRoy McCullough (ret.)
Roger Rogoff (ret.)​​
John Ruhl (ret.) 
Catherine Shaffer (ret.) 
Marianne Spearman (ret.)
Julie Spector (ret.)

Chelan County Superior Court

Kristin Ferrera

Cowlitz County Superior Court

Jill Karmy

Okanogan Superior Court

Rachel Hong

Pierce County Superior Court

Susan Adams
Sabrian Ahrens
Jennifer Andrews
Grant Blinn
Alicia Burton
Diana Kiesel
Grethen Leanderson
Ingrid McLeod
Andre Peñalver
Scott Peters
Thomas Quinlan
Matt Thomas
Phillip Thorton
Angelica Williams

Snohomish County Superior Court

Marybeth Dingledy
Jennifer Langbehn
Cindy Larsen
Karen Moore
Patrick Moriarty
Edirin Okoloko
Paul Thompson
Bruce Weiss
Michael T. Downes (ret)

Spokane County Superior Court

Rachelle Anderson 
Charnelle Bjelkengren 
Breean Beggs
Dean Chuang
Jackie High-Edward
Tony Hazel
Annette Plese
Marla Polin 
Candie Dibble
Ray Clary (ret)

Yakima County Superior Court

Jared Boswell
James Elliott
Shane Silverthorn
Sonia Rodriguez True
Elizabeth Tutsch
David Elofson (ret.)

Benton & Franklin County Superior Court

Norma Rodriguez

Clark County Superior Court

Greg Gonzalez

Kittitas County Superior Court

James Kirkham

Kitsap County Superior Court

Jeffrey Bassett
Jennifer Forbes
Melissa Hemstreet
Bill Houser
Kevin Hull
Tina Robinson

Lewis County Superior Court

Andrew Toynbee

Okanagon County Superior Court

Katie Burke
Rachel Hong

Whatcom County Superior Court

David Freeman

King County District Court

Michael Finkle
Kevin Peck
Rebecca Robertson

Clark County District Court

Kristen Parcher
James Smith

Seattle Municipal Court

Faye Chess
Andrea Chin
Damon Shadid
Anne Harper (ret.)
Judith Hightower (ret.)
Kimi Kondo (ret.)

Community Leaders

Jason Cummings, Prosecutor, Snohomish County
Mary Ellen Stone, Former CEO, King County Sexual Assault Resource Center
Fé LopezGaetke, Civil Rights Activist & Founding Director of the Seattle Community Police Commission
Kathy O’Toole, Former Chief of Police, Seattle Police
Laurel Smith, Prosecutor-Elect, Clark County

Legislative Endorsements

Emily Alvarado, Senator, 34th Legislative District
Jamie Pedersen, Senator, 43rd Legislative District
Rebecca Saldana, Senator, 37th Legislative District
Yasmin Trudeau, Senator, 27th Legislative District|
Washington Latino Democratic Caucus (recommended)

Union Endorsements

Legislative District Endorsements

Bar Association Ratings

Joint Asian Judicial Evaluation Committee: Exceptionally Well Qualified

Latina/o Bar Association of Washington: Exceptionally Well Qualified

Washington Women Lawyers: Exceptionally Well Qualified

QLaw Foundation: Exceptionally Well Qualified

Endorse Judge Mike Diaz