Some testimonials

 

Rich Weyrich, Skagit County Prosecuting Attorney

Please join me in supporting Tom Seguine for Superior Court Judge. Tom has been in Skagit County for over 30 years, handling all types of cases including very serious criminal cases. He has shown through his maturity and experience that he is the right person to be your new Superior Court Judge. Let’s elect Tom who has demonstrated the ability to handle this important job.

 

Melanie Alvord

State v. Marcus Everett

First Degree Murder

 

 “My husband became a missing person in Skagit County in 1984. He simply disappeared one day and we never actually knew what happened to him.  We thought something bad had happened to him because there was a man, Marcus Everett,  seen around the time he disappeared driving my husband’s car.  But the police could never get enough evidence to charge Mr. Everett or find out what happened to my husband.  This went on for just about 20 years, to the time when Tom Seguine was the Skagit County Prosecuting Attorney, in about 2004.  At that time Mr. Everett confessed to killing my husband and burying his remains in remote Skagit County.  This is when I first got to know Tom.  The situation was very confusing and disturbing for me for many reasons.  Suffice it to say that Tom worked with me day-by-day to help me grasp what was going on.  Even though there was a confession, the situation ended up being very complicated from a legal standpoint.  In the end, Tom as the Skagit County Prosecuting Attorney, personally handled the case and Mr. Everett pleaded guilty to killing my husband in 1984.  I have always said that I was very thankful that Tom was the prosecutor when this happened, because he was always available to me for questions and counseling about the complicated legal procedures involved, but always very sensitive to the anxiety and trauma that I and my family were going through.  Skagit County citizens should be glad they have candidate like Tom Seguine running for Superior Court.  I have already voted for Tom in the primary in August of 2020, and I am voting for him again in November.  I think everyone else should too.

 

Ron Rennebohm

State v. Mullen and Dean

Theft, Criminal Profiteering and Conspiracy

 

“I first came to know Tom Seguine in January of 2002, when he first became Skagit County’s Elected Prosecuting Attorney.  As the owner of Frontier Ford in Anacortes, I was victimized by my bookkeeper and general manager over the course of the prior 6 years, during which they stole $1.2 million dollars from the business.  That theft just about killed my business. Tom Seguine filed charges against them and eventually went to trial.  Tom was up against two prominent Skagit County defense attorneys.  The trial lasted 5 or 6 weeks.  In the end, Tom got convictions against them for everything he charged them with and they had to go to prison.  As far as I know to this day that is the largest theft case ever to happen in Skagit County.  I am lucky that Tom was the prosecutor on my case.  He worked very hard, over a long period of time (2-3 years) to get the convictions.  What was really important to me is that the defense attorneys said everything was my fault.  Tom convinced the jurors that wasn’t the case.  The jurors completely rejected that idea, in fact, because after five or six weeks of trial, they came back with guilty verdicts after about a day of deliberations.  I am supporting Tom for his run for Superior Court Judge.  He has the background and experience and sense of justice we need for a Superior Court Judge.  Please join me in voting for Tom for Judge this November!!”

 

Claudia Ridgway

XLII v. Ridgway, et al

US Dist. Court for Western Washington, 2017

“My fiancé passed away unexpectedly in 2017 from a heart condition. He had made me the beneficiary of some life insurance he had at work. I asked Tom to help me apply for the life insurance benefit. We submitted my application, but the life insurance company was refused to pay. At the time we did not know it but the life insurance company was helping some other family members to contest my claim. They said that I somehow “unduly influenced” my fiancé to put my name on the policies. Tom actually found the documents from the people inside the insurance company and recognized that they were acting in bad faith against me. As a result of all that, the life insurance company sued me in federal court in Seattle. Suddenly, I really needed help. Tom Seguine was there to help me because he had experience in civil cases like this and in federal court. The whole thing was very painful and disturbing to me because I had just lost my fiancé, so I wasn’t going to get married like I thought, and now I had to somehow figure out what to do about this lawsuit in federal court, and, the money that I was supposed to get was being wrongfully denied to me. Tom Seguine skillfully handled the case. He conducted extensive legal research on the complicated legal issues that were involved, and convinced the federal court judge that I was the victim of injustice by both the other family members and the insurance company. He did all of this quickly too. When all was said and done, the insurance company had to pay all of the money from the life insurance policies, and my attorney fees. I am very lucky to have had Tom to represent me in this case. He knew what to do and when to do it, and he focused on my case to get me as close as can be to where I was supposed to be. I am very grateful to him for all the work he did. I am supporting him for his run for Skagit County Superior Court Judge. You should too. Vote for Tom Seguine for Skagit County Superior Court Judge this November!!”

Christopher G. Johnson
Kirkland, WA
It has been my honor to be Tom Seguine’s friend for 30 years.  I am confident that Tom will fulfill the duties of Superior Court Judge with competence and integrity.

Loren Hoboy

Hoboy v. National Bank X
Hoboy v. National Bank Y

I highly recommend Tom Seguine for Superior Court Judge and suggest you consider voting for him.
As some of you know, I lived and worked in Skagit Count for 20-years before retiring. My son and his family call Skagit County their home. I have known Tom and watched his career since the early 2000s. Tom is a highly skilled litigator and negotiator. Tom successfully handled my cases involving challenging the wrongful acts of two big banks, by suing them both, and then persisting through what came after, eventually winning both cases. Through this process he became a trusted advisor. I found him to be a logical, reasonable and pragmatic person with good common sense, all traits that in my opinion will make for a great judge. Tom’s legal knowledge and experience with both civil and criminal law in private practice and as a criminal prosecutor makes him stand out as the ideal candidate for filling this Skagit County Superior Court Judge position.

Tom brings the skills, experience, and even temperament a Superior Court Judge needs.

 

 

Doug Salyer

I have known Tom Seguine for over 20 years. We met while he was a prosecutor for Skagit County and I was a police officer for Sedro Woolley. It was not until I became a detective that Tom and I got to work together. Tom was an excellent prosecutor who had good command of the law and wonderful courtroom demeanor. During his time as prosecutor and mine in law enforcement we became good friends and I have supported him in all of his public endeavors because of his intelligence, character, honesty and work ethic. I have been a lifelong Democrat and found it easy to support Tom because of who he is and what he stands for. I would encourage everyone regardless of party affiliation in our current politically divided country to consider supporting Tom with your vote for Skagit County Superior Court Judge. Tom has all the boxes checked and will make an excellent Superior Court Judge.

 

State v. Michael Oakes First Degree Murder

Estate of Mark Stover Probate and Estate Litigation

My brother, Mark Stover, was murdered in Skagit County. His body has never been found. My brother was fairly well known from his profession as “the Dog Whisperer,” and the criminal case received a lot of publicity.Mark was officially a missing person until his killer confessed to killing him in his criminal trial in Skagit County Superior Court. I was the personal representative of my brother’s estate, which was involved in difficult litigation above and beyond the murder case.

Tom Seguine helped me through all of this. Because he had been the prosecutor and had much experience in criminal cases, he helped me to understand the criminal process. Without a death certificate, administering the estate was a nightmare. His experience in civil cases, including personal injury and estate administration helped me navigate my way through the bureaucracy.

One part of that involved an appeal to the Court of Appeals. Tom helped us resolve that part of the case. I was very frustrated with many parts of the judicial process, on both the criminal and civil side of things. Tom Seguine helped me and my family make the best of it all. Tom Seguine is a very good lawyer. He is compassionate and fair minded, the very traits that make a great judge. His knowledge of the law, both criminal and civil is extensive. Always calm, practical and honest he helped me see things as they were and not as I would like them to be.

Skagit County is very lucky to have him as a candidate. Please vote for Tom for Superior Court Judge.

 

Charlie Wend

I’ve known Tom since the early 1990s. He is a colleague and a friend. I’m supporting Tom for Superior Court Judge. He has the right background for the job. He knows the legal system inside and out from his 30+ years of practice. Tom has more than three times the legal experience of the other candidate. More importantly, I know Tom to a fair and even-handed person who will treat everyone with dignity and respect, regardless of their backgrounds in life. He understands justice profoundly because he has worked both sides of the fence over the course of his career. Please join me in voting for Tom for Superior Court Judge on November 3.

 

 

Linth v. Gay

 

In re Franklin and Evelyn Plant Foundation

Franklin and Evelyn Plant were two of our dear lifelong friends who owned a 50 acre piece of waterfront real estate. After Franklin passed away Evelyn created an estate plan which gave the property to the foundation so that it could be used to advance Christian education, beliefs and values. After Mrs. Plant died, we discovered that the attorney who had drafted the estate plan didn’t prepare it correctly, resulting in a terrible estate dispute. The solution that was proposed — and accepted at one point — was to simply sell the property off and pay off all of the litigants with cash.

The sale of the property did not happen. We hired Tom Seguine to represent us for that and the related malpractice claim against the attorney. In the end, after literally 14 years of litigation, Tom helped save the property for the Foundation. We now operate it as Mr. and Mrs. Plant wanted — a resource for use by a variety of nature and Christian organizations.Beyond that, Tom valiantly presented our malpractice case through the Washington Court of Appeals and into the Washington Supreme Court. Although we did not prevail, ultimately, we raised a series of very important legal points and principles which ended up clarifying the law of legal malpractice.

Tom gave us steady, persistent, reliable and detail oriented representation through all of this. He was extremely objective and professional, always striving to reach a fair result within in the boundaries of our ultimate goals. Skagit County is very fortunate to have someone with Tom’s experience and wisdom running for Superior Court Judge. I support his run for Superior Court, and you should too.

Jennifer Linth, David Linth

Dr. Bruce Montgomery

Island County and Island Beach Access v. Montgomery et al.

Tom was involved as counsel in a property dispute on Island County.  Essentially a poorly drafted plat map from 1944 led to a dispute whether a strip of land that would provide beach access was publicly or privately owned. The private owners had title and had paid property taxes for decades.  Furthermore, the drafter of the plat had given easements to other local property owners on the disputed property indicating that he had thought the property had not been conveyed to the county on the plat map. The island county DA, realizing that the case was problematic,  publicly stated that “we may lose”.   An activist group joined with the County in the court case.

Tom with others came up with a compromise of splitting the property in two sections, allowing public beach access but enabling the property owners to keep their front yard.  The county agreed with the settlement, the activist group refused to accept the settlement, continued their court case that was later dismissed.

The local newspaper called it a “Solomon solution”.  Three years later, the activist group on their website is now taking credit for the solution that they opposed.

Tom realizes that emotions can affect logic and reason, as a judge he will look past emotions and come up with fair solutions.

Bruce Montgomery