Four candidates apply to run for judgeship

KENNEWICK, Wash.-- A Tri-Cities attorney is among the four candidates who have filed for the Benton-Franklin Superior Court Judge position 1 being vacated by retiring Judge Bruce Spanner.

Spanner, first elected to the bench in 2008, announced earlier this year that he would not seek reelection.

Attorney Bronson Brown, currently a partner in the private law firm of Bell, Brown, and Rio, is among the four who have filed to run for the vacant seat. He also serves as the general counsel/city attorney for the cities of West Richland and Union Gap, as well as the Benton Clean Air Authority, and the Kennewick and Grandview School Districts.

The Tri-Cities native graduated from Kennewick High School in 1994, then from Central Washington University, and received his juris doctorate from the California Western School of Law.

He'll face Franklin County Prosecuting Attorney Shawn Sant, as well as Talesha "Tali" Sams from Benton City, and criminal defense attorney Shelley A. Ajax.

Washington's primary is August 4, 2020.