SEQUIM — Assistant Attorney General William Payne is joining the race for the Clallam County Superior Court vacancy that will be created by Judge Ken Williams’ retirement.
The 55-year-old Sequim attorney presently works in the Port Angeles office of the state attorney general.
He served as a deputy prosecutor for Clallam County from 2008 to 2009, when he left the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office to open a private practice.
He joined the Attorney General’s Office in September.
Payne is the fourth candidate to announce that he will file for the position when the candidate filing week opens May 14.
Other candidates
Attorney Curtis Johnson, 58, of Port Angeles; Forks District 2 Judge Erik Rohrer, 54; and Clallam County Hearings Examiner Chris Melly, 60, of Port Angeles all have announced their intention to run for the post in the Aug. 7 primary, when the top two will be chosen for the Nov. 6 general election.
If one candidate wins more than 50 percent of the vote in the primary, then that candidate will advance to the general election as the only name on the ballot.
Williams, 65, whose salary is $148,000 a year, is retiring at the end of this year after five terms on the bench.
Payne has practiced both civil and criminal law in both Wyoming and Washington.
He served as president of the Clallam County Bar Association in 2010 and volunteered with Law Advocates of Whatcom County providing pro bono legal advice in clinics for indigent clients.
He currently serves on the board for the Clallam-Jefferson County Pro Bono lawyers and is a member of the Port Angeles Rotary Club.
Farmer, rancher
A Marine Corps veteran who retired as a captain, Payne grew up in West Texas and has worked in farming, ranching and construction.
He received a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in business administration from Wayland Baptist University in Lubbock, Texas, and received his law degree from the University of Wyoming College of Law.
He started and sold a computer consulting company in Texas.
He and his wife of 23 years, Pamela, a family nurse practitioner at the Jamestown Clinic in Sequim, have two adult daughters and 11-year-old twins who attend Greywolf Elementary in Sequim.