Statesman Journal mini-questionnaire for 2012 Primary Election

Thank you for responding to this questionnaire, which is for use by Statesman Journal Editorial Board members in evaluating candidates for potential endorsements. Your answers also will be shared with reporters and may be published in the newspaper and/or on our website, StatesmanJournal.com. Remember: Any information you provide may be made public. Please fill in your answer to each question and return this questionnaire to the Editorial Board as an attached Word document. The editorial board e-mail: Salemed@StatesmanJournal.com Deadline for submitting your questionnaire: 9 a.m. Tuesday, April 10. Questions? Contact Editorial Page Editor Dick Hughes, 503-399-6727, dhughes@StatesmanJournal.com --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Your name: Age: 62 Timothy J. Sercombe

(If your age will change before the May 15 primary, please indicate your birthday. We want to make sure we use accurate ages in editorials and news coverage. )

Political party (if this is a partisan office): Position you are seeking (name of position, district number): Oregon Supreme Court Judge, Position 3 I plan to attend the editorial board meeting scheduled for: Number of years living in the area you seek to represent: Are you a full-time resident of that area? City/town of residence: Portland Yes April 17, 2012, 11:00 a.m. 38

Family (name of spouse/partner, number and ages of children if at home, number of grown children): My wife is Jane Van Boskirk. I have four grown children: Meghan, Benjamin, and William Sercombe and Emma Van Boskirk Education: Northwestern University, B.A., 1971

University of Oregon, School of Law, J.D., 1976 Current occupation/employer: Judge, Oregon Court of Appeals, Oregon Judicial Department Oregon Supreme Court, Law Clerk, 1976-77

Employment, military and volunteer history:

Harrang Long Gary & Rudnick, 1977 - 1991, Associate and Shareholder (Municipal, Land Use, Administrative, Constitutional and Appellate Law) Preston Gates & Ellis LLP (now K&L Gates), Of Counsel and Partner, 1991 - 2007 (Municipal, Land Use, Administrative, Constitutional, Energy and Appellate Law)

Oregon Court of Appeals, Judge, 2007 - present Please list all public offices to which youve been elected, and when: Oregon Court of Appeals Judge (2008) Please list any unsuccessful candidacies for public office, and when: Other prior political and government experience: Advisor to several Oregon local government entities (city councils, boards of commissioners, planning commissions, district boards of directors) How the public can reach your campaign (remember that this information may be published): Mail address: E-mail address: Web site URL: Phone: Friends of Tim Sercombe, PO Box 82725, Portland, OR 97282 Sercombeforsupremecourt@gmail.com www.judgetimsercombe.com None

503-935-1892

Please limit your response to each of the following questions to about 75 words. 1. Why did you decide to run for this office? I am committed to the improvement of the quality of the justice system in this state. Given my abilities and temperament, I believe that I can best fulfill that commitment as a judge, rather than as an attorney. As between a position on the Court of Appeals, and one on the Supreme Court, I prefer to be of service to the public in the Supreme Court position. This is because it provides a better opportunity to produce high-quality opinions that are comprehensive in nature and responsive to the needs of the bench and bar. 2. How much will your primary campaign cost? I estimate it will cost between $60,000 and $80,000. 3. Key endorsements you have received: I have been fortunate to receive endorsements from over 450 lawyers and judges from all areas of the state. Most of my endorsers are attorneys who are familiar with the work of the Oregon appellate courts. Some of my more renowned endorsers are: Governor Ted Kulongowski, former Attorney General David B. Frohnmayer, former Supreme Court Justices Hans Linde, W. Michael Gillette, George Van Hoomissen, and William Riggs, former Court of Appeals Chief Judges David Brewer, Mary Deits, and William Richardson, former OSB Presidents Arthur Johnson, Robert Fraser, Mark Johnson Roberts, Kathleen Evans, Gerry Gaydos, and Richard Yugler, David Markowitz, Susan Hammer, Paula Barran, Robert Maloney, Stephen Janik, Gregory Chaimov, Thomas Sand, William Gary, and John DiLorenzo. 4. Have you ever been convicted of a crime, been disciplined by a professional licensing board/organization or had an ethics violation filed against you? If so, please give the details. No 5. Have you ever filed for bankruptcy, been delinquent on your taxes or other major accounts, or been sued personally or professionally? If so, please give the details. No

6. Why should people vote for you? What separates you from your opponent(s)? Be specific. I define myself to the voters by my experience, expertise, and judicial temperament. I have a proven track record as a hard-working appellate judge, who produces well-reasoned opinions that are concise and clear. I practiced as a lawyer for 30 years in Eugene and Portland and in a variety of areas (trial and appellate litigation, administrative law, business and real estate transactions, civil rights, land use law, energy and utility law, municipal law, state constitutional law). I represented individuals, businesses, and governments throughout the state. Given the geographic and practice breadth of my legal career, I am not aligned with any particular segment of the bar, any part of our state, or with any client group. As a result, I am better able to judge each case before the court objectively and without predisposition. I do not judge cases prematurely, and approach each matter before the court with an inquisitive and open mind. I am the only candidate in this race who has experience as an appellate judge, who has practiced extensively in the Oregon appellate courts, and who has a broad range of experience in all of the subject areas of the Supreme Courts work. 7. What are the three most important issues you would address if elected? How? (75 words for each
issue)

A. If I am elected to the position, I wish to do my work extraordinarily well and write opinions that are fair and impartial, clear, understandable, responsive and prompt, and correct and faithful to the law in their reasoning B. Promotion of the use of technology in the court system to make its work more efficient, open to the public, and less costly to the taxpayers C. Adoption of judicial performance and workload assessments to hold courts, including the Supreme Court, accountable in the allocation of scarce judicial resources; and regular evaluation of Supreme Court performance by attorneys and judges 8. What do you see as other important issues? Improving access to justice by increasing the number of court sessions held outside Salem. I am particularly interested in the court hearing arguments in high schools with significant populations of minority students and promoting careers in law with the students in classroom sessions held in conjunction with those sittings. 9. What magazines, newspapers and Web publications do you regularly read to keep up on the news and developments in your areas of interest? I keep up with new decisions of the Court of Appeals through circulations of opinions, and with decisions of the Supreme Court through its website. I subscribe to a service provided by Cornell Law School on new United States Supreme Court decisions. The judges on my court receive legal news and blogs from Lexus Nexus Publisher, though the Supreme Court Library. I subscribe to the Brennan Center Fair Courts e-alert publications. Otherwise, I obtain legal news and information from my regular subscriptions to the New York Times, New Republic, and other magazines and newspapers.

10. Any skeletons in your closet or other potentially embarrassing information that you want to disclose before it comes up in the campaign?
No