Robert “Bob” Scales, a former two-term member of the Bainbridge Island City Council and one-time candidate for mayor, has announced his candidacy for the post of Kitsap County prosecutor.
Scales, 52, filed as a candidate on Friday, May 16. He has an extensive background in law, and currently works as a compliance coordinator for the Seattle Police Department.
Before that, he worked in the Office of Legal Compliance for Microsoft and has also served as the director of the Government Affairs Section for the Seattle City Attorney’s Office.
Scales, a Democrat, is the fourth candidate in the race.
The other hopefuls include incumbent Russ Hauge, a Democrat from Silverdale; Tina Robinson, a Republican from Port Orchard; and Bruce Danielson, an Independent Party candidate from Port Orchard.
Scales said he has thought for some time about pursuing the post of prosecuting attorney, but said he didn’t want to run for elected office while still holding an elected position.
“I’ve been thinking about it for many years,” said Scales, who successfully ran for the Bainbridge city council twice and completed his last term in December. He was on the council for eight years.
“This is just the ideal fit and the ideal time for me to do this,” Scales said.
Scales also noted his experience in both criminal and civil legal matters.
He was a deputy prosecuting attorney for nearly six years for the King County Prosecutor’s Office, and handled thousands of criminal cases ranging from DUIs to homicides, and took more than a hundred cases to trial.
Prior to that position, was a special assistant in the United States Attorney’s Office in Seattle.
Scales was also appointed to serve as a disciplinary hearing officer for the Washington State Bar Association, and was honored with the Random Acts of Professionalism Award for his efforts.
“What makes me unique is I also have the policy background, as well as the project management and people management background,” Scales said.
Scales has lived on Bainbridge Island for the past 15 years with his wife Debbie and his son Sebastian, who is currently a student at Cornell University. Scales earned his law degree in 1994 from the University of Washington School of Law.
