As a Clark County deputy prosecuting attorney in the major crimes unit, Tony Golik has put away some of the county’s most violent offenders.
On Tuesday, the Democrat defeated his toughest opponent in his most high-profile case: The case to voters as to why he should lead the office.
Preliminary results showed Golik, 43, with 55 percent of the vote.
Republican Brent Boger, 53, a senior assistant Vancouver city attorney, had 44.7 percent.
Boger conceded the race, issuing a brief statement Tuesday that read, “Congratulations, Tony. The voters wanted a good criminal trial prosecu tor for this job and they got one. Best of luck to you.”
Golik was with his wife, Cathy, and supporters at The Atrium Lounge in downtown Vancouver when the results came in.
“I’m excited to get to work,” Golik said later at Clark College’s Gaiser Hall. “I’ve been working extremely hard during this campaign, every night, every weekend.”
In January, Golik will replace fellow Democrat Art Curtis, who announced last December that he would not seek another term. Curtis, 62, has been prosecutor since 1981.
Curtis never faced a serious challenger during his three decades in office, and when he announced he would be stepping down, he endorsed Curt Wyrick, his longtime chief deputy prosecutor. But Golik stepped up and quickly started picking up supporters.
Wyrick, 61, bowed out in March and Curtis went on to endorse Golik.
Golik said Tuesday that John Fairgrieve, a senior deputy prosecutor and fellow member of the major crimes unit, will be his chief deputy prosecutor.
Bronson Potter, the office’s chief civil deputy prosecutor, will keep his job, Golik said.
Golik said he was not ready to make an announcement on the position of chief criminal deputy prosecutor, currently occupied by Denny Hunter, 63.
Golik said he and Fairgrieve will handle cases themselves; Curtis and Hunter have made rare courtroom appearances.
Boger, a party loyalist who has never tried a criminal case but said experience in the courtroom wasn’t vital to the job, campaigned that he would be tough on crime.
Golik questioned how someone with no direct knowledge of what it takes to win convictions can be “tough on crime,” and provide guidance to deputy prosecutors.
While Boger landed endorsements by well-known Republicans such as former U.S. Sen. Slade Gorton and Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna, Golik took a clean sweep of endorsements by every law enforcement guild in the county.
A third candidate, attorney George Kolin, was eliminated in the August primary. Kolin captured less than eight percent of the votes in the primary, which Golik won with nearly 49 percent.
According to reports filed with the Public Disclosure Commission, Golik raised $73,818 to Boger’s $45,768.
The prosecutor currently earns $148,836 a year and supervises 40 deputy prosecutors.
Stephanie Rice: 360-735-4508 or stephanie.rice@columbian.com.
