Former Maleng deputy files as Democrat in prosecutor race

Keith Scully, an environmental lawyer and former deputy prosecutor, filed this morning as a Democratic candidate for King County prosecuting attorney.

He is the first Democrat to declare his candidacy for the post left vacant by the May 24 death of longtime prosecutor Norm Maleng.

Acting Prosecuting Attorney Dan Satterberg, Maleng's chief of staff for 17 years, filed as a Republican candidate Monday with the support of party leaders and Maleng's family.

Scully's entry into the race comes while two other Democrats, County Councilmember Bob Ferguson and Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Bill Sherman, say they are deciding whether to run. Friday is the last day to register for the Aug. 21 primary.

Scully, 34, worked as a deputy prosecuting attorney under Maleng from 1999 to 2005, when he went to The Hague, Netherlands, to join the United Nations legal team prosecuting former Serbian political and military leaders for war crimes. He returned to Seattle last year and became legal director for Futurewise, an environmental organization formerly known as 1000 Friends of Washington.

If elected, Scully said, he would move the prosecutor's fraud division into the criminal division and expand it to prosecute more lower-value crimes, and would create new units for prosecuting environmental violators and assisting crime victims.

"I love that office and I know it really thoroughly," he said. "I know its strengths and I don't want to see someone in there who will make radical changes and undo things that are working well. I have experience working in the U.N. and other areas and know there are areas that can be improved upon."

A native of Santa Cruz, Calif., and a graduate of New York University School of Law, Scully lives in the Green Lake neighborhood with his wife, Jennifer, and their children, Katie and Finnegan.

Keith Ervin: 206-464-2105 or kervin@seattletimes.com