Commissioners postpone announcement on judges

EPHRATA — The Grant County commissioners will announce their choices for two Grant County District Judge positions at 8:15 a.m. Monday.

Commissioners interviewed five candidates for the jobs Wednesday, and discussed the options in executive session, but decided to announce their picks Monday.

Candidates are Brian Gwinn, of Moses Lake; Nicholas Wallace, of Ephrata; Kenneth Chadwick, of Ephrata; Anna Gigliotti, of Ephrata and Patrick Earl, of Moses Lake.

One of the two positions became available in late April, when former district court judge Tyson Hill was appointed to the Grant County Superior Court bench. He replaced David Estudillo, who was nominated for a position on the U.S. District Court in western Washington.

The second job opened when current presiding judge Janis Whitener-Moberg announced in May she planned to retire, effective Aug. 31.

The judge replacing Hill would start immediately, and the judge replacing Whitener-Moberg would start Sept. 1.