A second candidate with strong connections to the Edmonds community announced Friday that she is seeking to become the next Edmonds Municipal Court Judge. Jessica Connelly Ness has submitted her name to Mayor Dave Earling, who intends to interview candidates for the position on Nov. 25. The judicial position officially becomes vacant in January when Judge Doug Fair moves to the Snohomish County District Court.

Ness, 36, currently serves as a regular Judge Pro Tem in the District and Municipal Courts of Snohomish County, including the Edmonds court, filling in several times a week for elected judges who are absent. Ness is an attorney at a private law practice focused on criminal defense and is a former Snohomish County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney and judicial extern for Justice Susan J. Owens at the Washington State Supreme Court.

A graduate of Meadowdale High School, the University of Washington, and Seattle University School of Law, Ness operated as an independent real estate appraiser headquartered in Edmonds for seven years before beginning her law career. Her mother, Susan Searing, has been a teacher in the Edmonds School District for 25 years. Ness frequently speaks to students in the Edmonds schools about government and the U.S. Constitution and also works as a Volunteer Guardian Ad Litem advocating for abused and neglected children. She and her husband Jonathan Ness, a software developer, live in Bothell with their two children.

Linda W.Y. Coburn, a Snohomish County public defender, long-time Edmonds resident and former journalist, has also announced that she has applied for the position.