Three attorneys with distinct backgrounds and legal experience are vying to wear the robes in Island County Superior Court.

Vickie Churchill, a longtime superior court judge, announced that she won’t seek another term on the bench this fall. At 73 years old, she would have “aged out” in the next four years since state law doesn’t allow judges to go over 75 years of age.

Retired Langley attorney and substitute judge Carolyn Cliff, well-known Oak Harbor attorney Chris Skinner and Kathleen Petrich, a retired Seattle lawyer who specialized in intellectual rights, have all announced their campaigns to take Churchill’s place.

If more than two candidates officially file, the contest will appear on the Aug. 4 primary and the top two candidates will go on to the general election.

CHURCHILL SAID she wants the next judge to continue her work outside the courtroom in improving the justice system; she helped spearhead the funding and construction of the county’s juvenile justice facility and has been involved in leadership roles on such state groups as the Board for Judicial Administration and the Gender and Justice Commission.

“There’s a lot of things you need to do to make the system better, and it’s not from the bench,” she said.

Churchill hopes she is replaced by a woman because she feels its important to have that perspective in superior court, which handles a wide range of legal issues — felony crimes, juvenile justice, civil cases, divorces, requests for no-contact orders, lower court appeals and more.

Churchill is endorsing Cliff, whom she said is “very ethical and very meticulous.” Superior Court Judge Alan Hancock said he will not decide on an endorsement until the filing period is over.

CLIFF OPENED her law office in Langley 30 years ago and has represented clients in civil litigation, most commonly in property-related disputes and cases involving the exploitation of vulnerable people. She helped assemble a web of financial information that ultimately showed that an Oak Harbor attorney had been stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from clients; he was eventually sent to prison.

Cliff closed her office in 2017 but has continued working as a judge pro tem in superior court, which she has been doing for 20 years.

As a temporary judge, she’s presided over all the different types of superior court cases. She said she does her research, is prepared in court and is a good legal scholar, but she feels the way a judge treats people in the courtroom is just as important as those qualities. She said she strives to treat everyone with respect, compassion and patience.

“I don’t think there’s a more important quality for a judge than patience,” she said.

She calls herself “tough but fair.”

Cliff emphasizes how much the community supported her over the years. She is a trustee of the Arise Charitable Trust, which provides financial assistance to help women.

SKINNER, ON the other hand, has a wide range of experience as a private practice attorney and litigator. He has been representing people in Oak Harbor and surrounding areas since 1979, when he was an associated attorney with Zylstra, Beeksma and Waller. He became a partner and later opened his own office in 1996; at one time he also had an office in Friday Harbor with seven attorneys in the firm.

He said his focus has been on litigation, which includes some high profile cases. He has represented several murderers and people accused of vehicular homicide. He successfully represented law enforcement officers on several occasions, including a sheriff’s deputy accused of falsifying a report, a deputy marshal accused of unlawful imprisonment and police officer accused of lying about the hours he worked.

He even defended a judge — successfully — before the Commission on Judicial Conduct.

Much of his work, however, has been on the civil side of the law. That includes divorces, probate, property disputes and just about every kind of lawsuit imaginable. He’s appeared in front of military courts, federal courts and appellate courts.

“I’ve done pretty much everything that a trial judge would tend to encounter,” he said.

Skinner said representing people in difficult, emotional and stressful situations has given him “a little more of a glimpse into the human condition” and an understanding of how a judge’s decisions and demeanor can affect people.

“I realize people have human shortcomings,” he said. “Being in private practice has been a good training ground for being fair.”

Skinner is well known in his community and is also known to have opinions on city government. He has served as president of the Oak Harbor Rotary Club and the Oak Harbor Navy League, is the chairperson of the Skagit Valley College Board of Trustees, a member of the Oak Harbor Chamber of Commerce board and president of the county’s bar association.

Members of Skinner’s election campaign include Oak Harbor Mayor Bob Severns, former sheriff Mark Brown, former councilman Rick Almberg and Christine Cribb, former Oak Harbor Chamber director.

IN CONTRAST, Petrich is a relative newcomer to Island County, having moved to Langley three years ago this fall. She retired as a partner at a large law firm in Seattle, where she focused on intellectual property rights and patents. She has also filled in as a judge pro tem in Island County superior and district courts. She said she relishes the opportunities.

“I think it kind of hits me on all my sweet spots,” she said. “I’m a very analytical person by nature. I have an engineering degree. I also have a compassionate side.”

Petrich said she has qualities necessary to be a good judge. She said she’s fair, consistent and able to control the courtroom. She comes to the bench very prepared and expects the same from attorneys.

“It’s possible some local attorneys may not be so happy with me,” she said.

Petrich said she understands how important the court system is to civil society and hopes to serve a community she’s quickly grown to care about. She is president of the Friends of the Langley Library and a member of the League of Women Voters.