WENATCHEE — Democratic attorney Jenny Durkan said there really was no question that she would be in court here yesterday and not away mourning the death of her father.

She said Martin Durkan Sr., a one-time Democratic powerhouse in the state, would have wanted her to stay focused on defending the governor's election and Democratic Gov. Christine Gregoire's tenure in the office.

"It was a difficult day," Durkan said after she finished hours of questioning state Elections Director Nick Handy. "My father had a strong belief that you never quit because something was hard. You just never quit. That was never an option."

She said she talked with her mother, who told her how closely Martin Durkan had been following the case in his final days.

"She was very clear that one of the last things my dad had talked about was the election contest and the trial and he had hoped to be here in Wenatchee for a lot of it.

"It was important to carry on."

Her father was a long-time Democratic leader in the Legislature and then a powerful lobbyist in Olympia. He died Sunday at a hospital in Hawaii. He had been in failing health and had a heart attack about 10 days ago.

It's not the first time death has affected attorneys in the election case.

Last week David Bohr, a Wenatchee attorney, died in a motorcycle crash. Court paused one morning so Russell Speidel, the Democrats' local attorney, and Dale Foreman, the Republicans', could make brief comments. Speidel said that Judge John Bridges also knew Bohr well, though the judge made no comment in court.

Foreman and Bohr were close friends and coached Little League baseball together.

"You can bet that when I got home I thought I should have been there at the funeral," Foreman said. "But I couldn't go."

David Postman: 360-943-9882 or dpostman@seattletimes.com