Bernard Veljacic has apparently won election to Clark County Superior Court, according to preliminary election results.
He had 57.25 percent of the vote, compared to 41.89 percent for his challenger, Bob Vukanovich, according to the first round of results, released Tuesday night.
“It certainly feels good to have the majority of voters so far,” Veljacic said. “I’ll feel much better once it’s official.”
The county has 10 Superior Court judges, who are nonpartisan and are paid $156,363 per year, plus benefits. Superior courts are the highest state trial courts, hearing felony and larger civil matters.
Gov. Jay Inslee appointed Veljacic, 42, of Vancouver to Clark County Superior Court Position 5 on April 28 to succeed Judge Rich Melnick, who was appointed to the Division II Court of Appeals. To retain his position on Superior Court, Veljacic had to win election.
Vukanovich, 56, of Battle Ground, also applied for the gubernatorial appointment but he and three others were passed up in favor of Veljacic. Vukanovich, who was the favorite of Clark County Bar Association members, said he never even got an interview with the governor.
“I never give up till the end,” Vukanovich said Tuesday night.
Having never run for an elected position previously, he said, the race was “new territory” and has been “a very good experience.”
Vukanovich has about 26 years of experience as a lawyer, compared to Veljacic’s 16 years.
“I wanted to be able to give the voters of Clark County a choice of who their judge would be, rather than having the governor’s appointment,” Vukanovich said.
