August 13, 2009

Stauffer plans judge run
Dufur lawyer will run for Kelly seat

     DUFUR – A Wasco County attorney and Dufur resident, Janet Stauffer, has announced she will seek the position of Oregon Circuit Court Judge in the Seventh District, Position 2, in the May 18, 2010 Oregon primary.
     The district encompasses Hood River, Wasco, Gilliam, Wheeler and Sherman Counties. The position is non-partisan.
     The position is currently held by Judge John V. Kelly, who has held the position for 24 years, and plans to retire from the bench.
     Stauffer addressed the Port of The Dalles board of commissioners when its members met Wednesday night at Dufur City Hall.
     “I want to continue the good work of Judge Kelly and Judge Smith,” Stauffer said, particularly citing the Drug Court and Family Dependency Court. Both judges plan to retire after their current terms.
     She also spoke about serving with “respect from the bench,” and providing consistency and timeliness.
     “People tell me they want to have faith in their legal system,” said Stauffer in announcing that she will file for the elective position on Sept. 10, 2009. “By being respectful from the bench and in making thoughtful, consistent, firm, and fair rulings, I hope to enhance confidence in our legal system.”
     Stauffer announced that longtime Seventh District residents Dan Boldt and Chelsea Powell will serve as chairperson and treasurer of her campaign.
     Stauffer and her husband, Jim Woods, are both attorneys and farmers in Dufur. They have owned cherry orchards in Dufur and Mosier since 1997. They have been married for more than 20 years and have three children, Ellen, 18, Hunter ,16, and Jackson, 15.
     An experienced attorney with extensive experience in the courts of Oregon and Washington, Stauffer became a member of the Washington State Bar Association in 1986 and the Oregon State Bar in 1990. She is also licensed in the federal courts of Oregon and Washington.
     Janet Stauffer was born in the Puget Sound area, where her family owned and operated tugboats. Stauffer, the first in her family to attend college, graduated from Seattle University with a degree in Spanish (and is bilingual). She earned her law degree from University of Washington.
     She met her husband, Jim Woods, a 1969 graduate of The Dalles High School, while working for a prominent Seattle law firm in 1981. They returned to the Columbia Gorge, purchasing a home in 1989, and subsequently opened their own firm here, Woods & Stauffer Law Office.
     Stauffer has been a volunteer with CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) since 2000 and is the only attorney currently serving in that capacity. She also recently became a member of the Dufur School Board and Dufur Chamber of Commerce board of directors.
     She is a past board member of St. Mary’s Academy, a volunteer senior center bus driver, a licensed wrestling official, and a youth and high school soccer coach.
     Stauffer expects to be the only woman on the ballot for either circuit judge post.
     “And I’m definitely the only woman on the ballot who knows how to run a tug boat or wrestle,” she quipped at the port meeting.
     Stauffer said she would be happy to speak with anyone about their experience with the courts and how justice can be most effective.
     Stauffer can be reached at P.O. Box 365, Dufur, OR. 97021, phone (541) 467-2222, janetstaufferforjudge@ortelco.net.....