2006 Seattle Elections

General Elections Voters' Guide

Seattle Municipal Court Judge Position 2 - C. Kimi Kondo

C. Kimi Kondo - Nonpartisan

Judge C. Kimi Kondo was appointed to the Seattle Municipal Court Bench in 1990 by Mayor Norm Rice. She was appointed by Mayor Greg Nickels to Position Two in March 2002 after Position Twelve was abrogated due to budget constraints. The City Council unanimously confirmed her and she ran unopposed in 2002 and 2006.

Judge Kondo is a senior trial judge. In the past three years she has presided over more trials each year than any other judge on the Municipal Court Bench. She has written several legal opinions regarding complex DUI issues and is committed to interpreting the law fairly and carefully.

"I am very concerned that many young people, and more women are facing DUI charges. Since the breath/blood alcohol limit has been lowered to .08, increasing numbers of people are facing driving under the influence charges. The public must be mindful of the public safety consequences as well as the devastating personal effects that can result from abuse of alcohol and drugs".

Judge Kondo has rotated through all court calendars a number of times and was instrumental in persuading the court to adopt the individualized calendering system that will be implemented in 2007. She serves as the court’s jury judge and works on internal court committees. She has served on the State Gender and Justice Commission and promoted judicial education programs addressing domestic violence and bias toward women of color in the court system.

For the past three years, Judge Kondo has coordinated the Northwest Regional Thomas Tang Moot Court Competition for the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association. She has recruited fellow Asian Bar Association of Washington attorneys and other attorneys and judges who are interested in educating the next generation of young lawyers. This year, Judge Kondo is also the National Coordinator of the Thomas Tang competition that will be held in Philadelphia on November 9-12, 2006.

Judge Kondo was the first Asian American woman judge in the State of Washington. She was endorsed by the Women’s Political Caucus in 2006. Judge Kondo enjoys paddling with her dragon boat club and has participataed in races in Washington and Canada. She also rows at Mount Baker and loves sculling on Lake Washington as the sun rises to reveal the beauty of Mt. Rainier.

Judge Kondo urges the public to support an independent judiciary uninfluenced by special interest groups.

Unopposed