Three lawyers and a pro-tem judge seek governor’s appointment to Lincoln County Circuit Court

Gov. Kate Brown will again have an interesting decision to make when it comes to appointing the next judge in Lincoln County.

Three lawyers and a judge on temporary contract have applied to the governor’s office to replace Lincoln County Circuit Judge Thomas Branford, who is stepping down from the bench Feb. 28 after reaching the state’s mandatory retirement age for judges.

In the last judicial appointment only a year ago, Brown stepped outside the courthouse to appoint a longtime attorney in private practice for the job.

Lawyers wanting to seek appointment had until Feb. 1 to apply. Four did, and they are:

• Amanda Benjamin, who is currently working on one-year Oregon Judicial Department contracts since 2019 as a Lincoln County temporary judge. Benjamin had sought the last judicial appointment in 2019, but was among three lawyers passed over by the governor. She then ran for the position in November and lost to appointee Marcia Buckley by 143 votes in an expensive and acrimonious race.
• Brian Gardner, a Newport attorney in private practice who has twice worked in the Lincoln County District Attorney’s office. Gardner was chief deputy district attorney for Jonathan Cable, who was also appointed by the governor in 2019 but defeated for the position in May 2020 by Lanee Danforth. Gardner left that position in January when Danforth became district attorney.
• Kenneth “Rusty” Park, a longtime deputy district attorney, who had also applied for the last judicial appointment in 2019 and then ran for district attorney last May before asking voters to support Cable.
• Russell Baldwin, a Lincoln City attorney who also sought the 2019 appointment and ran unsuccessfully against Branford in May 2018 and in the May 2020 primary.

Lincoln County has three elected judges and Benjamin, working on contract as a pro-tem judge.

Whomever the governor appoints will have to run for election in 2022. Candidates can file by March 8, 2022, according to Lincoln County Clerk Dana Jenkins. If one or two candidates file, they would skip the May 2022 primary election and meet in the November general election. If three or more file, they would all appear on the May ballot and the top two would go on to the November general election, unless one candidate receives more than 50 percent, when the top vote-getter would go on alone to the general election. It would be for a new, 6-year term.