Bainbridge Councilman Scott announces resignation

Bainbridge Island City Councilman Mike Scott will resign from the city council to become a judge in King County Superior Court.

The resignation will become effective at the end of March, Scott said in a statement.

“I am very excited and grateful that Governor Inslee has appointed me to the King County Superior Court. Serving as a judge has long been a professional goal of mine,” Scott said in a statement Tuesday night. “After 35 years of practice with my Seattle law firm and active involvement with the King County bench and bar, I am thrilled to be able to combine my commitment to public service with a profession I love in the role of King County Superior Court judge.”

“It has been a privilege to serve our community on the city council,” he added.

Gov. Jay Inslee announced Scott’s appointment Tuesday, with Scott joining the bench in April.

“Mike has taken on some very difficult and important cases,” Inslee said in a statement Tuesday. “He has a varied legal career and consistently demonstrated his commitment to community and equality.”

Scott, who earned his law degree at Stanford University, is chairman of the Hillis Clark Martin & Peterson P.S. Litigation Group, and also serves as a court-appointed arbitrator and mediator.

He was one of the attorneys for the plaintiffs in Ingersoll vs. Arlene’s Flowers before the Washington State Supreme Court, a case that earned nationwide interest after a florist in Richmond refused to provide flowers for a gay couple’s wedding. The florist was found to have broken the state’s anti-discrimination and consumer-protection laws.

Scott, a Central Ward councilman, was appointed to the city council in January 2015. He ran unopposed for the District 4 council seat in November 2015 and was elected to a four-year term.