Candidate for judge post offers broad experience

David Elofson is the first to say he's been around the block a few times. That's a good thing, he says, when it comes to being a judge.

Combined with his 23 years as a civil litigator, the Yakima lawyer says his work experience before law school -- hotel manager, tennis pro, life insurance salesman -- brings a perspective not many lawyers can claim.

As for wanting to replace retiring Yakima County Superior Court Judge Robert Hackett, Elofson says he's ready for a fresh challenge and eager to go into public service.

"I like my job, I like my colleagues," he says, "but this is a chance to offer something back" to the community.

Elofson, 55, is a candidate for Hackett's seat on the bench in the Aug. 19 primary. It will be the only contested judicial race this year -- also on the ballot is Rob Lawrence-Berrey, another Yakima lawyer and civil litigator. Unlike most elective positions, this race will be determined in the primary.

Born and raised in Yakima, Elofson is a 1971 graduate of Eisenhower High School and a graduate of Washington State University, where he earned degrees in business and hotel administration.

After college, he returned to Yakima and worked as an assistant manager for several local hotels before chucking it all for a cross-country trip that ended on the Eastern seaboard, where he had relatives on his mother's side of the family.

Following a stint as a tennis pro at a boys camp in New Hampshire, he began selling life insurance in Newport, R.I., where he met his future wife, Gun. They raised three girls; the youngest is a student at West Valley High School.

After graduating from California Western School of Law in San Diego in 1985, Elofson came home again and, after a brief stint as a Yakima County deputy prosecutor, became a partner in his father's law firm.

Elofson says his father, Howard, never pushed him to become a lawyer and that he himself resisted the idea for many years.

The decision is not one Elofson now regrets. A longtime partner in the law firm of Menke Jackson Beyer & Elofson, he specializes in civil litigation -- everything from family law to probate to real estate -- and touts his courtroom experience as on-the-job training for a judgeship.

Elofson says he's familiar with the backlog of cases that plague the Superior Court -- "I've been a victim of it, too" -- and pledges to work hard to help reduce the congestion.

"We have a great group of people on the bench," he says of the eight judges who make up the Superior Court, "but we do need some people who will work hard. I've worked hard to build a successful private practice, and I intend to keep working hard as a judge."

* Chris Bristol can be reached at 577-7748 or cbristol@yakimaherald.com.

EDITOR'S NOTE: David Elofson announced last month he was seeking a Yakima County Superior court judgeship. Due to an oversight, his announcement was missed by the Yakima Herald-Republic, which will provide more coverage of Elofson and his opponent Rob Lawrence-Berrey as the Aug. 19 primary draws closer.

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