For a lay person casting an informed vote for judge can be a daunting task. A case in point is Superior Court Judge, Pos. 6, a position for which, on first analysis, both candidates, Joe Wilson and George Appel, appear qualified. How then to decide?

For me, there are three deciding factors 1) breadth of experience, 2) commitment to public service and 3) a key endorsement. Joe Wilson emerges as superior in all three.

1) Mr. Wilson has litigated both criminal and civil cases all over the state of Washington. He has tried cases in Municipal, District, Superior courts and in the Tulalip Tribal Court. He has argued cases before the State Court of Appeals, the Federal District Court of Western Washington and most impressively successfully argued two cases before the Washington State Supreme Court.

2) Mr. Wilson volunteers his time for low- income clients through Snohomish County Legal Services, is a long-time board member and past president of the Snohomish County Center for Battered Women and serves on the Dawson Place Feasibility Committee to provide comprehensive services to abused children.

3) Superior Court judge Richard J. Thorpe, the judge who is retiring from the position the two candidates are competing for, has provided a compelling endorsement for Mr. Wilson.

I believe the choice is clear.

Bill Trager

Mill Creek