Judge from Cashmere runs for re-election, helps create drug court

Following Chelan County Superior Court Judge Alicia Nakata’s retirement in 2017, Judge Kristin Ferrera of Cashmere was sworn into office in January of 2018. Since then, Ferrera has gained much experience in criminal law cases to add to her extensive resume. Running against Charles Steinberg, Ferrera will vie for Chelan County Superior Court Judge position three in the upcoming primary election this November. 

            Before becoming a judge, Ferrera worked in law for nearly a decade; most recently she practiced civil litigation at Jeffers, Danielson, Sonn & Aylward Law Firm in Wenatchee. She has experience with employment, family, construction and agricultural law as well as civil rights defense. Ferrera is the only candidate in our county running for a Superior Court Judgeship with judicial experience and she hopes this will benefit her re-election.

            “I’m a neutral person who walks into a situation and tries to look at it from all sides and hear everyone before making a decision,” Ferrera said, “people want to know that they’ve been heard and I really do think that they feel that when they walk out of my courtroom.”

            Ferrera has been busy this year not only presiding over cases but was also instrumental in creating a drug court in Chelan county. At their meeting last month, on May 14, Ferrera told Cashmere City Council the majority of criminal cases she sees involve some type of drug use, mainly methamphetamines and opioids. The drug court begins tomorrow, June 7, and follows the national model which is practiced around the state and across the country.

            “We are hoping that this drug court is going to combat some of the problems that we’re seeing with addiction in our community,” Ferrera said.

            Participants of this program will spend a minimum of one to two years completing courses in order to graduate from drug court and avoid a conviction on their record as well as jail-time. Those eligible are people with a drug addiction who commit minor crimes, such as petty theft, not violent offenders. Participants that qualify will not only undergo drug treatment but must complete steps for getting proper housing, employment and their GED. The drug court is by no means an “easy way out,” Ferrera said, those who don’t meet requirements during the long process face sanctions, the most severe results in removal from the program. But the Chelan County Superior Court, including Ferrera, believe the drug court will eliminate repeat offenders.

            “We’re helping them achieve life skills in addition to staying clean,” Ferrera said, “It’s for people who really struggle with wanting to get clean, but if they don’t have those skills to actually be successful in life then there’s a chance they might come back [to court].”

            With the experience she will gain presiding over the drug court, Ferrera hopes to be re-elected this year in order to maintain consistency for participants in the program. She believes it is important for Cashmere citizens to vote in the upcoming election as many folks will eventually end up in the Superior Court whether for a civil case, such as divorce and custody hearings, or a crime. Ferrera maintains people want a fair and honest judge when attending their court date and seems to truly appreciate the community in which she lives.

            “I love it here. Having lived in other places and traveled around, there is really no better place than Cashmere, in my mind,” Ferrera said.

            For more information about the election visit co.chelan.wa.us/elections.